


Dirty Little Secret in the Amazon

by Chlstarr



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Minnie's Bowtique, Monster Girl Encyclopedia
Genre: F/M, It's gonna get more into it's ratings as it goes on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-30
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-07-11 05:51:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7031656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chlstarr/pseuds/Chlstarr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mickey and Minnie have mutually been apart for months, because of Minnie's Bowtique. She's a business woman now so she's pretty busy, but when one of her business associates asks her to dinner and allows her to bring a friend, she asks Mickey to be her escort.However, Min's associate ends up asking Mickey for a favor that sends him deep in the Amazon. What other insane things does he find when he gets there?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Suddenly Reuniting

**Author's Note:**

> I only own Alfonzo T. Gato in this chapter. Everyone else mentioned in this chapter is owned by Disney.

Mickey was actually surprised to find Minnie come knocking on his doorstep. He was surprised because he hadn't seen her in a while since she was always so busy with her Bowtique. He had tried calling her for dates every other day at first, but then it became obvious that she was just too busy since she never returned his calls. Well, that is to say she did return one of his calls, but again it was basically her saying she was simply too busy trying to get the bow business off the ground and attempt to get into high society. So, Mickey gave up, he didn't even visit her at the shop in person because he didn't want to be a bother since she was **SO** busy.

In a small sense, they mutually put each other on the back burner, as Mickey decided to become preoccupied with plenty of adventures to go around, he did return home every so often, but eventually his adventuring came to an abrupt stop after coming home only to find that the tabloids were going bonkers over Minnie. More specifically over the supposed separation of the two mice since there were pictures of Minnie with a handsome cat billionaire in just about every gossip paper posted in Mouston. According to Police Chief O'Hara, it was so shocking to the tabloids that it almost hit local news, but thankfully the police put a stop to it since it really wasn't anyone's business.

Even Mickey knew better than to jump to conclusions. He had recalled on his last conversation with Minnie, and remembered that she was trying to get the bow business into high society. Well there it was standing next to her in all the pictures the paparazzi managed to get without getting caught. Minnie was a business woman now, so naturally she'd be looking for business allies and associates, and apparently she found one in Alfonzo T. Gato, which was the name of said handsome cat billionaire.

Mickey didn't mind. Truly he didn't, as she's done this sort of thing before the last time the two of them had mutually lost interest in each other back in the fifties. At the time they were both dating someone else, Mickey was dating a girl named Ingrid and Minnie was dating some international movie star. Both mice were actually dumped in those relationships. For Mickey, Ingrid was suddenly getting married to some other guy and for Minnie, her movie star boyfriend had to go shoot a movie overseas and probably would never come by Mouston again, but at least he said he'd enjoyed his time with her while it lasted and he politely said goodbye. Mickey and Minnie then accidentally met up at a malt shop (remember this was the fifties) and got back together again of course.

However, _this_ situation was far different from that one in the distant past, and not just because Mickey wasn't "being seen with anyone," but... just because it was business as usual, and the tabloids were having a field day coming up with their own conclusions. Keep in mind that Mickey was being forced to keep tabs on the tabloids because every time he went down to the station to see if there was a case he could work on, there would be officers who actually read the gossip papers for amusement on their breaks and would fill him in. Anyway, the pictures of the two were only there because they were extremely casual business meetings. Alfonzo was crossing the line of professionalism, since these meetings really did look like they were going on dates, hence why there was so much buzz about it. That, and whoever was writing the articles had clearly followed Alfonzo's every move probably since the day he was born, as at least half of them went on in some kind of excitement about how Alfonzo had finally found " **The One** " and that the "Public" was anxiously waiting for the proposal.

Normally this would upset Mickey enough to have a huge fit of jealousy, a fit that would lead him to finding out where the feline lived and punch his lights out, not caring that he'd get sued for all he was worth. However, he wasn't upset, and he was uncharacteristically not even feeling the slightest twinge of jealousy. Of course it was probably because he was the only one who noticed that in every single picture that was discreetly taken of Minnie and Alfonzo, Minnie's smile wasn't genuine. It was a cheerleader smile through and through, but only Mickey noticed it. He knew what a real smile from her looked like, he should anyway, since he's known her for far longer than Alfonzo has, and _**time**_ was all Mickey needed to be one step ahead of the cat.

The main problem with it all is that the tabloids wouldn't stay off of the subject and this went on for about two months until we come to where we are today. In which Mickey was still stunned stupid when he opened his door to find Minnie there on his doorstep. She was in a simple yet formal looking summery yellow dress, but more importantly she had tears in her eyes. Then she suddenly flung herself into his arms as she cried his name and sobbed into his shoulder. It took a great deal of Mickey's willpower to not act on instinct and ask if Alfonzo had done something to upset her. He knew he couldn't jump to conclusions like that, not right now, as it was too delicate of a situation. He had to act natural, like he didn't know anything about her business affairs. He'd only touch the subject if she did, as he embraced her with one arm and casually flipped through the calendar on the wall to his right with the other, shutting the door with his foot while he was at it.

"Let's see...Our anniversary of our very first date was back in May and I made sure ya got yer chocolates an' flowers, whether or not you accepted them is yer business, it ain't an important holiday, and it ain't yer birthday nor mine. Yet yer wearin' an awful formal lookin' dress that makes me feel like I should be in a tuxedo right now, even though I know we haven't made any plans, 'cause we haven't talked in a long time." The girl in his arms sobbed louder into his shoulder as she hugged him tighter, clearly sorry for putting him on hold for so long. However, he could tell her sobs held a deeper meaning behind them otherwise, why else would she be here?

"I know...and I'm sorry...for not...keeping in touch...and I'm sorry this is so sudden...but I...I have a really big favor to ask…" She said finally, sounding desperate through her sniffles and sobs. Unfortunately she wailed into his chest even louder upon just thinking about what she needed to ask him.

"Shh, shh, shh," he tried calming her. "Ya can ask anything of me ya want, Min, ya know that. I won't mind whatever it is." He then started to rock her from side to side in his arms. Then a loud, unladylike sniffle emitted from her before she spoke.

"Oh, I just know you'll mind plenty, since it has something to do with… _him!"_ More sobs wracked from her, as she sounded like she was confessing a great sin of hers, which in a _broad_ sense, wasn't too far from the truth.

"Him, huh? This wouldn't happen ta have anything ta do with that cat fella with the jingle bell around his neck would it?" He asked jokingly, trying to play it off coolly so she wouldn't be as upset anymore, and to show that he wasn't really jealous and held no hard feelings (after all, there was no point in hiding that he knew since she has this favor to ask).

Well, she didn't catch that last part in his tone as she was more focused on the fact that he knew about the Alfonzo in the first place. She sobbed even louder, clearly ashamed to even admit it. She had never felt so much guilt before, and it was hard enough to bear behind Mickey's back, but since he just revealed that he knew about it anyway she felt even worse if that was possible.

"Now, now, I only know 'bout him 'cause the guys down at the station who actually read the tabloids update me on 'em whether I wanna hear it or not. And quite frankly I'd rather not, but I do know yer doin' yer best ta play 'im fer a fool, 'cause in every picture the paparazzi got of ya, they only got pictures of ya smilin' a cheerleader smile. An' I'm the only one who's noticed since I know what a real smile from ya looks like." He explained, then he pulled back to make her look into his eyes and see that he was smiling gently, as he brushed away a few tears with his fingertips. "I'm not mad at ya, Minnie. Not by a long shot. They were just business meetings, an' he's been crossing the line of professionalism, right?" She was shocked that he wasn't upset with her over all this, she hadn't treated him this terribly since she fake dated Mortimer Rodawn (spelled Rodent but pronounced Rodawn), but she nodded eagerly all the same because Mickey was 100 percent correct. "See? Nothin' much ta worry about."

"There's still that…favor I need to ask you…" She replied hesitantly, looking away from him then. The favor was the only thing they had to worry about.

"I'm gonna guess it involves me needing to be in a tux right now so…" He trailed off as he gently pulled away entirely and took her hands, and led her to the couch. "You relax here, an' I'll go get ready 'k?" He slowly let go of her hands, and went into the kitchen to quickly get her a glass of water and a box of tissues, for good measure, and set them on the coffee table in front of her before quickly dashing upstairs to go and change into a tuxedo.

Ten minutes later, Mickey came back down in a simple tux, featuring black pants and an overcoat, dress shoes and a white shirt of course. He almost put spats on but decided against it for the sake of not wanting to be too formal and too old fashioned, and it was also why he nixed the tails on the overcoat. He also nixed the tie for the same reason but had it in his overcoat pocket just in case Minnie told him he'd look better with one. "Feeling better, Min?" He asked gently, taking her hands into his as he stiffly sat down on the couch next to her, he was trying not to wrinkle the suit too much. She hesitated on giving any kind of answer because she had forgotten how handsome he looked in a tux, and to be frank - he cleaned up quite nicely. Finally she regained her senses and nodded solemnly.

"A little, but I still know you're not going to like the favor I have to ask you."

"Has that ever stopped ya before?" He asked her incredulously. This hesitance on a favor coming from the woman who has quite literally made him shop until he dropped whenever she goes on a shopping spree with Daisy, and he and Donald are stuck carrying all the bought items for their respective girlfriends. "Ya've made me do plenty o' things I didn't like or wanna do, but I still did it, just for _you_ dear. Even if I don't like it, I'll still do it fer ya." He said softly, wiping away any new tears that threatened to fall.

She smiled at him for being such a big sweetheart. She realized then, just how much she missed him, so she kissed him. It caught him by surprise of course since he honestly wasn't expecting a kiss from her so soon, but he relaxed into it. After several seconds she pulled away, but not without nipping his bottom lip, which naturally made Mickey squeak in surprise.

"Thanks Mickey, you're the best." She said softly, resting her forehead against his.

"Aw, any time, Min." He replied modestly. Then he couldn't help but chuckle and tease her a little about that sudden kiss. "Missed me that much, huh?"

She rolled her eyes at him before she spoke, feeling much better now and even her tears had stopped. "Of course I've missed you. I regret putting us on hold more than anything. Alfonzo hasn't really put much effort into the business side of our meetings, I was hoping he'd invest some amount of money by now but so far, _**nothing**_." She sighed exasperatedly. "Tonight's meeting is going to be the last straw if he still doesn't invest, but at the same time I'm worried about something else he might do…"

"Yer worried that he'll propose ta ya." Mickey quipped in understanding. Minnie pulled back a little and looked at him in shock so he continued with a brief explanation. "The gossip papers wouldn't shut up about that as a possibility. At least twenty of 'em thought you were' _ **the one**_ ' since he's apparently never acted like this before. What is his occupation anyway? I've been curious since he's only been listed as a billionaire."

"He's actually a perfumist." She answered simply with a small giggle, curious as to how he'd react. Mickey had to stifle his snickers by turning his head away from her.

"An' ya were tryin' to use 'im ta help supply fragrances fer a line of scented bows weren't ya?" He finally asked her when he managed to calm down. With her tongue in cheek, she nodded. "Is he really stationed in France too?"

"Mickey~" She lightly growled. "It's not funny."

"O' course it is. He hit one of yer weak points, Min. I know ya love Paris, France. An' if he speaks French too, then ya could easily tell 'im off in that language and no one else would know if ya were swearing or not. Though they'd probably take a few good guesses if ya yelled at 'im." Mickey chuckled, picturing it now. Then he remembered what she was here for. "Now about that favor…"

She hesitated because it was suddenly brought up again, but now that she knew Mickey still had his usual sense of humor after all this time and didn't seem to hold anything against her, this favor she had to ask didn't seem all that bad anymore. "Well…I was hoping you could be my bodyguard for tonight. Alfonzo is having this meeting at his mansion, but I was so nervous about it that I asked if I could bring a friend, and thankfully he agreed."

"An' he thought ya were implyin' Daisy since it is just a business meeting gone casual as usual…" Mickey added.

"Exactly…So do you mind?" She asked hopefully. Using the full extent of her charms by looking at him and fluttering her eyelashes cutely. Mickey chuckled because she didn't need to since he had already agreed by getting dressed in a tuxedo.

"O'course I don't mind, Min. Now, do ya mean bodyguard as in a simple escort ta make sure he keeps his paws offa ya, or bodyguard as in an escort with a hidden gun?" He asked cheekily.

"A gun would be too sloppy Mickey, better to take your pocket knife, just in case. Though I highly doubt anything too bad would happen. So far so good Alfonzo hasn't really made any threatening sounding jokes or remarks that would make me worry really." She replied quite easily with a chuckle, she then noticed how mortified Mickey looked and couldn't help but giggle.

"I was only joking about the gun, Minnie! What, have ya been studying the art of murder or somethin'?" He said quickly, though the panic was crystal clear in his voice.

"I know about the missing person's cases, Mickey." She said finally in quite a serious sounding tone, and that's despite the humor from a heartbeat ago. It was enough to stop Mickey from panicking about her motives and made him panic about something else. "Chief O' Hara came in to say hello the other day, and he also couldn't help but warn me about the entire department's suspicions about Alfonzo." She looked at him wondering if he'd confirm anything. She knew he would, it was thirty people gone missing after last being seen working with Alfonzo at some point. _**And unfortunately most of them were women**_.

"As far as I ever knew those cases were just rumors, an' the Chief was more concerned than I was about all this, _only_ 'cause I know ya can handle yerself. He even wanted me ta ask ya how close yer relationship with Alfonzo was when the tabloids wouldn't get offa  _you_ fer a subject. O'course I didn't do it since it ain't any of my business nor anyone else's." Mickey explained solemnly. Minnie gave him a quick peck on the cheek at how sweet he was regarding her affairs. It sent pleasurable shivers down his spine, since it had been so long since they last saw each other, his body had to readjust to her loving actions.

"Thank you for being so considerate." She quipped heartily.

"Anytime, toots." He replied humbly. "Were ya serious about the pocket knife?"

"Yes, actually I was. If you used a gun, the police would track the bullets to your gun easily, and the motive would be painfully obvious. But as I said the pocket knife is just _in case_ something happens, but I still doubt anything _will_ happen." She said plainly with a smirk.

"Yer sure ya haven't been studying the art of murder? Ya never did answer me the first time I asked." Mickey said skeptically. It had only been five months and ten days since he saw her last, and apparently it was enough time apart to make her a little more cynical in her own right.

"No, I haven't. Not officially anyway. I've just been reading a few novels lately and the main characters in them all had relatives who were murdered in one way or another, and the books happened to describe how the killers were caught." She explained with a bat of her eyelashes. Mickey shuddered in a sudden chill of fear at the innocence she easily displayed, but he knew better. She could play the role of an innocent lamb very easily as it was just in her natural nature, however, should anyone cross her the wrong way and she could be as ferocious as a hungry shark.

"Remind me not ta piss ya off…Pardon my language." Mickey remarked uneasily.

"Of course, on both accounts." She quipped, and kissed his cheek in an attempt to calm his nerves.

"Wait a minute…Minnie, what time were ya supposed ta go see 'im?" Mickey asked upon remembering the actual arrangement.

"Oh, about a half hour ago." Minnie replied nonchalantly with a small giggle. She didn't even seem to care that _she_ was late, and Minnie was known for her organization and punctuality. "But I already told him I might be a bit late because I had a few errands to run. He seemed to buy it."

"O'course he bought it, ya can get anyone ta believe anything if ya tried…but still, a half hour? Minnie, I don't care how lenient ya think he is, if he is what the police department thinks he is, then he is gonna be one ticked off kitty. It's bad enough that he'll be peeved when he sees me anyway, but put this little cherry on top an' there's yer cocktail of ticked off jealousy." Minnie giggled at his understandable rant as she hugged him.

"If you stop worrying about it, I'll let you be as snarky as you want with him, Mickey." She fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously at him. At his quirked brow, she added a little explanation. "I actually want you to make a bad first impression on him. That way I can get rid of him faster."

"Hmm tempting… but I've got no guarantees on that, toots. I'd have ta know him better before I make any snarky remarks ta his face. Besides, me being with ya alone should be enough ta get rid of him and his no-show investments. Ya might as well call me yer trump card in that case." He smirked at the end of his statement, and kissed the backs of her hands cheekily.

"Well, thank you anyway." Minnie quipped in gratitude, still blushing at the affection he gave the backs of her hands.

"Anytime, Min. Uh, shouldn't we get going?" He asked uneasily with a glance at the clock. It was getting late.

"Right, the sooner we get this over with the better." Minnie sighed exasperatedly. Mickey stood up first and then helped her get to her feet, and then he thought of something.

"Alright, my car or your car?"

"Oh! I didn't even think of that…Um…probably best to take my car, he knows what it looks like. You can drive if you'd like." She suggested sweetly, and promptly dug into her purse and got her keys and held them out for him.

"Gladly." He quipped, holding his own hand out under hers and she dropped the keys into his hand. "So, which luxurious mansion is his?" He asked as they walked to his front door.

"The old Baits house, and yes the same one Prince Penguin lived in when he was wreaking havoc here in Mouseton." She replied with a slight roll of her eyes at the mention of Prince Penguin, as she went through the front door which he had opened for her. Mickey locked it behind him, and caught up to her, and walked beside her down the porch steps. Prince Penguin was another admirer of hers, hence her eye roll. 

"Is that another, more subtle reason yer nervous about goin'?" Mickey asked cautiously. As he opened her car's passenger door for her. She kissed his cheek before she got in. His question was understandable, as Prince Penguin actually had the hots for Minnie and not just because she was a fellow antique collector.

"Hardly, I don't even remember what it looks like on the inside. Not to mention it'll look different anyway since it's not completely covered in ice." She giggled, and Mickey chuckled with her before shutting the door and walking over to the driver's side.

"Good ta hear, so let's hope all this blows over, huh?" Mickey said as he adjusted the mirrors, the seat position, and the steering wheel height to fit him better. Minnie was a couple inches shorter than he was, so it was all necessary. He liked her car, he liked it better than his own even if he didn't get to drive it often. His own car was finicky to the point that some days it was a hunk of junk and even he got frustrated with it, especially if it was the main reason he'd be late for something. It was definitely for the best that they didn't take his car because the old Baits house is up on a hill, and now that Mickey thought about it, his car probably wouldn't have been able to make that climb as it had been acting up on him again recently. He glanced at her to see her buckled in and secured his own seat belt, and then backed Minnie's car out of the driveway and headed down the road.

"I certainly hope so. I've had enough of him talking my ear off about all the different investments he's ever made and yet not a single one ever went my way." Minnie said harsher than she had meant, it sounded so harsh that she practically scoffed. Thankfully, Mickey was extremely understanding.

"Sounds like ya got a lot ta get off yer chest. Go ahead and rant, Min. I'm all ears, besides we've got some time ta kill before we get there." It was then that Minnie remembered just who she was talking to. Despite him giving her permission to complain about Alfonzo all she wanted, she couldn't bring herself to do it, as a small pang of guilt from before came back. Instead, she nestled against his side and wrapped both of her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Maybe some other time," she sighed tiredly. "But enough about me and my problems, how've you been all this time?"

"I'm still here, so I'd say I'm doin' alright." He chuckled at his own joke, knowing she'd get at the very least suspicious if not upset. A quick glance at her told him she was indeed worried. "Of course I've been on a few adventures since the last time I saw ya, and a few of 'em nearly got me killed. I've even got a scar that goes right through me, just barely missing all of my vital organs. Aw, don't pout Minnie, I'm okay, I promise!"

"You know I don't like it whenever you risk your neck over something silly." She huffed, looking away from him and at the road ahead.

Mickey was about to lightly argue back that at the time he didn't know whether or not she even cared if he lived or died…but that was too harsh even if he said it lightheartedly, it would have been a _**horrible**_ thing to say. So instead he agreed with her as his reason for getting that particular scar was a really dumb one. "I know, it was my own dumb fault anyway, I wasn't looking where I was jumping and pretty much sk-! Well, I'll spare ya the details fer now since we're gonna have dinner soon, wouldn't want ya ta think about it in the middle of eating whatever he serves us." He stopped himself from saying that he practically skewered himself, as it wouldn't have been a pretty mental image.

"I actually forgot about the dinner. I was so focused on how I was going to break ties with him that it slipped my mind." Minnie chuckled halfheartedly.

"I just hope it ain't caviar with little tiny chips ta scoop it up in. Yucka!" Mickey said as he gagged at the thought and then chuckled. Minnie giggled right along with him after muttering an 'Ew' at the thought of caviar.

"Mickey…Thanks for everything." She said quietly after a while.

"Anytime, Minnie." He replied.

"I love you." She whispered cutely.

"I love ya too, Min. Don't ever ferget that now." Mickey whispered back, softly kissing the top of her head and then returned his eyes to the road.

"Never." Minnie replied simply with a beaming smile that he couldn't see, but he didn't need to. He could hear it in her voice.

It was a start at rebuilding their relationship and so far so good, they still mixed well together like peanut butter and jelly. However, they still have a little ways to go to iron out all the kinks from their months apart from each other, as well as some new challenges to face. Will they be able to overcome it all? Stay tuned and be patient to find out.


	2. A Dinner Party and a request

The mice reached Alfonzo's mansion without any problems, and needless to say…the building was an _interesting_ sight, and that's saying it in the most sarcastic of tones. There were ginormous cat statues all lined up in front of the mansion. And they were hideous.

"I'd ask if ya were sure if this was the place, Min, but judging by those statues, I don't think there's any doubt about it." Mickey said uneasily as he held his hand out to Minnie as she took it and got out of the car.

"I had a feeling he had a bit of an ego, but I didn't think it was that bad." Minnie replied just as uneasily.

"Makes ya wonder how he can eat if he's so full of himself." Mickey somewhat muttered under his breath, but it was loud enough that Minnie heard it and couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh-ho, Mickey! You really shouldn't say things like that." She chided through her giggles as she linked arms with him.

"Yet yer laughin'." He pointed out and even 'tsked' at her. "The signs were kinda there Minnie. Ya said so yerself, he never stopped talkin' about all the investments he ever made and didn't seem ta mention making any new ones, _particularly_ with _you_."

"I suppose." Minnie sighed tiredly. "I guess I should've seen it coming, huh?"

"If ya had come ta me about all of this earlier, I probably would've warned ya about it from a mile away even if ya didn't believe me." Mickey replied with a light hearted chuckle. Knowing her, she probably wouldn't have believed him at first since she'd think he'd be saying it out of a fit of jealousy. That is until she saw it for herself. Mickey just had a better sense of people's characters at first impression than she did, but sometimes she _could_ beat him to the punch. It depended on the situation really, as well as the person and their character.

"Oh, please, I'm sure I would've believed you sooner than you think." Minnie corrected lightly. As they got closer to the front door she noticed something missing from Mickey's current attire. "No bowtie for this?"

"I brought it with me in case ya'd think I'd look better with it. I just didn't wanna look too old fashioned. That's why I nixed the coat tails." Mickey explained as he jabbed a thumb behind him for emphasis on the coat tails. "So should I put it on?"

"No, you're right, you look better without it. And I didn't even notice that you lacked the coat tails until you mentioned it, handsome." She said the pet name without even thinking, and instantly blushed when she realized that she did say it. Mickey chuckled and lightly kissed the side of her head.

"Thank ya kindly, Minnie. Ya look mighty beautiful in yellow if I do say so myself." Mickey reckoned playfully.

"Thank you." She replied humbly, not quite looking at him though she kept him in her peripheral. "It's not a color I'd usually wear in it's entirety without a little bit of pink, but for the style of it I just couldn't resist."

"Well, ya've always had excellent taste. It really is a pretty dress. I'll even admit that I was stunned stupid when I first opened my front door an' saw ya standin' there." He admitted shyly.

"Oh, Mickey. You're so sweet." Minnie softly cooed at him. She stopped them just as they reached the steps, and leaned up and kissed him. She couldn't help but moan when she felt him kiss back as she was reminded again of his sweet taste. It took a few minutes of indulging, but Mickey was the one to finally pull away and remind her of the task at hand.

"We really should go on in and get this over with…but we can always catch up later." He added the last part with a blush.

"I'm gonna hold you to that, then." Minnie replied as she blushed and batted her eyelashes at him, and even tightened her grip on his arm lovingly.

"I don't doubt it." Mickey shot back with a chuckle. Minnie giggled right along with him as they finally walked up the front steps together, and rang the doorbell.

A rather thin and elderly looking butler answered the door. "Miss Mouse I presume? And her guest?" The mice nodded in unison, and then the butler opened the door wider and stood off to the side to let them in. "Please come in, right this way. Master Alfonzo has been eagerly awaiting your arrival."

"Oh, well I hope I haven't kept him waiting too long?" Minnie asked hopefully.

"Nonsense. The Master has the patience of a saint, but if it would help put your mind at ease, the Master has kept himself busy by conversing with the other guests." The butler replied.

"Other guests?" Minnie questioned under her breath, Mickey heard it, but thankfully the butler didn't. They were both so preoccupied with how hideous the outside decor was, that they didn't even notice all of the other cars parked outside.

"I will go announce your arrival." The butler quipped as he headed through the double doors ahead of them.

"Ya see, Min? Ya didn't hafta worry 'bout much. Ya wouldn'tve been alone with him." Mickey whispered in her ear comfortingly.

"I suppose…Oh! Do I look okay?" She replied hesitantly and then asked quickly.

"Ya mean yer make-up? Ya look gorgeous. No need ta redo anything even." Mickey assured her. She breathed small sigh of relief after blushing at his compliment. After all the crying she did at Mickey's, even if he was able to cheer her up easily, she thought for sure that she would have to redo something of her make-up.

"The Master and the other guests will see you now." The butler interrupted as he poked his head in, and then opened the double doors.

The mice walked in and found themselves in a large ballroom that was made to be more of a large dining room, and both of them were greeted warmly by the host himself.

"Minnie, darling there you are! I was getting worried that you wouldn't make it." Alfonzo greeted enthusiastically and then noticed Mickey himself. "Oh, and who is this fine specimen of a man that you brought with you?" Alfonzo then proceeded to look Mickey over quite thoroughly, from head to toe, a quick look at Mickey's backside, and finishing off by examining Mickey's free arm and politely asking him to flex, Mickey complied just to humor him. "Oh, I think you'll do just nicely for the expedition, wouldn't you agree Bartholomew?" Mickey's ear twitched at the name, it wasn't a very common name but he actually knew someone who belonged to it but preferred to go by his last name because he didn't even look like a 'Bart' for short.

"For the umpteenth time, just call me by my last name, Poindexter! And for pity's sake leave the poor man alone! There isn't going to even be an expedition until we get a willing candidate-! Mickey? Buttons? Is that you?" The blonde Chimpanzee in a formal looking lab coat asked curiously, adjusting his glasses to get a better look. Mickey grinned from ear to ear upon recognizing his old friend, and that his old friend recognized him first.

"Yeah it's me P.D. An' ya still don't look like a Bart! I'd thought ya'd legally change yer name by now, and workin' as physicist like ya planned. What're ya doin' all the way out here?" Mickey greeted his friend from high school, and tried to unhook his arm from Minnie's but she gripped him tighter. Evidently she wasn't willing to let him out of her sight or out of her presence just yet.

Thankfully Poindexter noticed it and came up to Mickey instead to give him a one armed hug and handshake. "Well, legally changing my name proved to be more of a hassle than it was worth. As for my current employment let's just say things don't always go according to plan, _in more ways than one_." His eyes very quickly glanced in Alfonzo's direction and then came back to stay in eye contact with Mickey's. Mickey recognized the old code of the importance of emphasized words from when they were teenagers and played along, blinking twice to confirm that he got the hint before speaking.

"Lemme guess, ya inherited a business from some relative ya hardly knew personally but seemed ta adore ya enough ta bequeath it ta ya."

"Something like that." Poindexter replied with a chuckle. "Now, aren't you going to introduce me?" He asked tilting his head towards Minnie.

"Oh, right." Mickey quipped and then turned to Minnie. "Minnie, this is Bartholomew Poindexter, he and I went ta high school together. He never did look like a 'Bart' so we just called 'im by his last name instead." He then turned back to his old friend. "Poindexter this is Minnie, she's my-! Well, uh, we've been in an off phase fer about five months, so I'm not sure what we are right now other than dear friends." He scratched the back of his head bashfully. He then felt her grip his arm tightly again.

"We're still an item, we just have a lot of catching up to do is all." Minnie explained, answering Mickey's unasked and implied question.

Suddenly the three of them heard a loud thump from behind Mickey. They all looked to find Alfonzo passed out on the floor.

"Oh, dear. The poor boy fainted." Poindexter quipped, sounding like he was expecting it from a mile away. "He really did have a thing for you Miss Mouse. While we were waiting, he absolutely wouldn't shut up about how delightfully charming you were. His words not mine, but I don't doubt his description. He was so nervous that you wouldn't make it that he couldn't stop sniffing his ring." He pointed out a specific ring on Alfonzo's right hand, as he lifted the billionaire feline up from under his arms and dragged him over to an armchair. Minnie finally let go of Mickey, so he helped by carrying Alfonzo by his legs. "Just as I thought, catnip." Poindexter said, as he examined the ring more closely. It was one of those fancy secret compartment rings, mostly known for carrying small amounts of powdered things, like poison. However, Alfonzo decided to use his to store catnip.

"Oh, fer gosh sakes. He's high as a kite and he fainted." Mickey groaned in annoyance. "Welp, sorry, Min. I guess he's not gonna deliver yer business demands anytime soon."

"Oh, please don't sell him short just yet. He's actually been trying to make up for all that he hasn't done." Poindexter said almost pleading.

"And you're speaking on his behalf because…" Minnie trailed off curiously.

" _Unfortunately_ , I'm his lead scientist when it comes to actually making his perfumes. It's not the easiest job but at least it pays the bills. Anyway, we've actually been trying to make the scents you ordered Miss Mouse, but along the way we ran out of a key ingredient. Even worse, the only place to get the ingredient is deep within the depths of the Amazon." Mickey and Minnie both parroted the name in gasped unison. "That's right, we have a team of men down there who usually harvest it for us, but lately they've refused to do so any longer because some of them have gone missing or just have never returned when they go off in search of it. Alfonzo has been desperate to make it up to his new _favorite_ business associate, so he's been asking for anyone adventurous enough to go look for that key ingredient." He had rolled his eyes at the emphasis of the word 'favorite', thus one could only assume exactly how much Alfonzo wouldn't shut up about Minnie. It only proved to Mickey how much Alfonzo liked her. Overzealous was the perfect way to describe it, but at least it was somewhat tolerable if Minnie's constant cheerleader smiles were anything to go by.

"So that's why he looked me over and said something about an expedition." Mickey mused aloud.

"Correct. I would ask you to do it, Mickey, because knowing you, you haven't changed a bit from when we were younger. However, I'd completely understand if you'd rather not." Poindexter continued.

"Oh, no. I'll do it alright. It sounds like ya need the extra hands, an' since its fer Minnie anyway, well that's just double fer me." Mickey said proudly. His tail wagged excitedly behind him at the thought of adventure.

"Mickey…You don't have to do this for me, it sounds dangerous." Minnie said worriedly.

"Aw, don't worry, Min. I'll be okay! Besides," He then turned to Poindexter for his next sentence. "I was kinda hoping ta get paid fer doin' this…"

"Ah, well, you'll have to take that up with him. Make sure you milk him for all he's worth, Mickey." Poindexter warned, and then he promptly woke Alfonzo up by literally slapping him upside the head. "Wake up, he says he'll do it."

"Really? Oh, thank you so much Mister Mouse!" Alfonzo said enthusiastically as he vigorously shook Mickey's hand in the utmost gratitude. He then switched gears and dashed over to Minnie and gently held one of her hands. "I'm terribly sorry that you've had to wait so long for those perfumes that you ordered all those months ago, Minnie darling. We've had nothing but drawback after drawback, but I'm determined to keep my promise and fulfill it no matter what. I hope you can forgive me for taking so long to tell you how it was going up until now."

"Well, you had your reasons, and I'm sure you've been working very hard on trying to get me what I asked for, so of course I forgive you." Minnie replied sweetly. Poindexter gave Mickey a questioning look, and Mickey returned it with a slight roll of his eyes and a twitch of his nose. Yes, Minnie was the type to be easily persuaded, and yes, it wasn't easy to keep her out of trouble either.

"Oh, thank you my dear. It warms my heart to know that you've forgiven me for that much." Alfonzo sighed happily.

"However," Poindexter interrupted.

"However?" Alfonzo parroted in suspicious confusion as he turned his head back towards the male mouse and the chimp.

"Mickey here, would like to be paid once he's done his job." Poindexter finished coolly.

"Oh! Is that all? Of course, of course, I'll pay you handsomely for your efforts. Just name your price." He inched back over to Mickey, and the mouse promptly whispered a price in his ear. "Just that much? Child's play."

"Bear in mind, I tend to have the worst luck when it comes to any adventure I go on. So any hassles I come across, I'll beef up that price as compensation fer my troubles." Mickey warned with a devious glint in his eye.

"Well, then, I hope you don't run into too much trouble out there." Alfonzo replied nonchalantly. Then he turned back to Minnie, and casually offered his arm to her, and she gingerly took it, daring a glance back at Mickey. Mickey just gave her an assuring nod and mouthed that he'd keep an eye on Alfonzo. "Now how about we see if dinner's ready yet, hmm? And I can introduce you to everyone else while we're at it, Minnie darling!"

Thus, Alfonzo introduced Minnie to everyone else who was there, and they all happened to not even notice that Alfonzo had fainted as the ballroom-turned-dining room was just that big. Meanwhile, Mickey caught up with Poindexter since they hadn't seen each other since they graduated high school.

"How much should I trust Alfonzo?" Mickey asked his old friend as soon as the billionaire was out of ear shot, yet still within sight so that he could keep an eye on Minnie.

"Not wholeheartedly. Don't be fooled by his flamboyant nature." The Chimpanzee replied solemnly.

"I never did trust anyone who was that nice up front. It hasn't failed me yet." Mickey quipped jovially.

"Good to hear. How long have you known her?" Poindexter asked suddenly.

"Minnie? Well lessee…I met her exactly two years after we graduated high school, so I'd say a pretty long time." Mickey replied easily. "Can't remember exactly how we met though."

"Regardless, you know her better than he does, thank heavens for that." Poindexter sighed in relief.

"Well, yeah, that's why I never became jealous over all this. Minnie's much fiercer than she looks, but only if ya push all the right buttons ta make her mad. It's also why I'm not too worried about her right now, she can fend fer herself just fine, but if she needs me I'm right here." Mickey chuckled.

"Good to know. I mostly asked because you may have won the bet we all made when we graduated." Poindexter said nonchalantly. He said it so casually that Mickey had to do a double take to realize what he was talking about, and a third take to remember the actual bet.

"Oh, right, the bet on which one of us would get a girlfriend first. Well, I can't take all the money yet, so far I've only seen you and Manfred, though Manny's a given since he's my cousin. Mac is a more likely candidate to have gotten a girlfriend probably before me even, and Lord only knows how Rico's doin'." Mickey replied. Mac was a perverted gecko with a greaser look, and Rico was a ram but a gentle giant and a hippie straight out of the sixties, the comment regarding him was meant for the fact that the government might have caught him as he tried to expose government conspiracy theories. One could only hope that he wasn't dead.

"So, true. How is Pinknose doing?" Poindexter asked, referring to Manfred by his high school nickname.

"He's doing okay. He's kept me in line and on my toes when _she_ hasn't, just as he always has when he first moved across the street from me." Mickey said jabbing his chin in Minnie's direction when he mentioned her.

"Good to hear. I'd advise taking him with you, but judging by how worried your significant other sounded, I'm assuming she might opt. to go with you instead…" Poindexter trailed off, wondering how his friend would react.

"Ah, ya picked up on that already, huh? Yeah, even if I told 'er I'd bring Manny with me or even some other friend of mine, she'd insist on coming with me anyway. She's as stubborn as I am if not more than I am, and it'd be a perfect opportunity to catch up with each other, even if it ain't the most romantic way to go about it." Mickey chuckled, already able to picture it.

"You'd be surprised." Poindexter quipped, but didn't explain further, and Mickey couldn't tell if he emphasized it or not in the way that he said it.

The two friends went on and talked about numerous other subjects of conversation and even exchanged cell phone numbers as Poindexter had other things to warn Mickey about but was unable to here where the walls had ears.

Dinner was finally served and thankfully it did not include caviar.

* * *

"I'm coming with you." Minnie insisted sternly as soon as she and Mickey got to her car.

"To the Amazon? Of course." He agreed simply as he opened the passenger door for her. His compliance was so shocking to her, that she did a double take at him and waited for him to get on the driver's side before she spoke.

"You're not arguing…Why aren't you arguing?" She asked suspiciously.

"What's the point if yer gonna insist on comin' with me 'cause it's dangerous? An' since we _**just**_ got back together, ya've already lost me once so ya don't wanna lose me again, an' on top of _**that**_ , what better opportunity ta catch up than ta go hiking in the Amazon itself? So yes, yer comin' with me 'cause I know yer not gonna take no fer an answer even if it's Alfonzo who insists that it's too dangerous fer ya." Mickey explained coolly, as he made sure that she and he himself were buckled in before he put the car in drive.

"After all this time, you still know me so well." Minnie marveled aloud.

"Well it's only been five months and ten days since we've seen each other." He quipped with a chuckle. Then he lost his small smile as he spoke his afterthought. "A little less than that for the last time we _talked_ to each other." He saw her look away from him at the corner of his eye, and almost regretted saying it. Almost, because it was one of those things that needed to be talked about in order to move on from it. Communication is important in a relationship after all.

"I've regretted that phone conversation every day since it happened." She sighed sadly.

"Now, now, as much as it hurt when it happened, I think we both needed time away from each other, just like that instance back in the fifties." He assured softly.

"You started it back then." She couldn't help but mutter, knowing exactly what instance in the fifties that he was referring to. She didn't realize until he replied right away that he heard her.

"An' this time _you_ started it so now we're even. It's all in the past now Min, all that's left ta do is ferget about it as best as we can while still learning from it, and just move on and look ahead ta the future."

Minnie did a double take at him, it wasn't often that he would say something deep and wise. He wasn't usually all that smart either, except when he was running on an adrenaline rush on a police case he'd be working on or if he were on an adventure. Just to be sure though…

"Who are you and what have you done to my Mickey?"

He guffawed at that.

"It's still me, Minnie. Manfred's odd wisdom has just been rubbing off on me lately. Honestly, I just got the chills as soon as all o' that came out, 'cause omigosh I sound like my cousin." He had laughed so hard he had tears in the corners of his eyes and had to wipe them away quickly because he was driving.

"So I have him to blame for that odd truth of wisdom that you just spouted?" She asked with a smirk.

" _Mostly_ , but it actually is how I truly feel about it." He admitted.

Sooner than expected he pulled her car up to her driveway. She was home, which meant that he'd have to head home himself. Minnie wasn't quite ready for that yet.

Before he could even open the car door to get out, Minnie latched herself onto his right arm, it was so sudden that it was enough to keep him from going anywhere.

"Please, don't go yet. It feels like I've hardly seen you at all tonight." She pleaded, burying her head in his arm.

It was an honest and understandable request in Mickey's opinion. Though he got to sit next to her during dinner, he was still catching up with Poindexter, who was sitting on Mickey's other side. She hardly spent much time with him anyway since Alfonzo stole her away to go meet everyone else who was there.

"Alright, I'll stay…but just fer a little while longer. I'll come by tomorrow if ya want." He offered.

"I'd love that." She replied with a happy sounding sigh, nodding into his arm.

After maybe ten minutes of enjoying each other's company in silence. Mickey remembered her original goal before heading to that dinner party meeting…thing.

"Sorry ya didn't get ta cut ties with him…" He apologized, drooping his ears for good measure.

"It's all right, it worked out better than I had planned anyway. I'd rather take my first vacation from the Bowtique with you any day." She quipped nonchalantly. Mickey's ear twitched at that statement.

"So I've been right in assuming that yer a workaholic, huh, Min?" Mickey questioned curiously with a smirk creeping onto his face. She giggled, and lifted her head to meet his eyes.

"Only a little. I do take days off, though I guess I did spend half of them trying to get something out of Alfonzo…" Minnie admitted. Then she thought of something he did quite recently. "Speaking of getting something out of him, I think that was first time I've ever seen you _ask for a reward_. Just what do you plan to do with that money, Mickey Mouse?"

His smirk grew to look quite smug and he had that all too familiar mischievous twinkle in his eye, but his answer was not what she was expecting. "Not gonna tell ya, Min. That's the number one secret that I'm keepin' ta myself." He chuckled as she puffed her cheeks and pouted defiantly, obviously she didn't like his answer. "It's nothing bad I promise, but I really can't tell you otherwise, 'cause I want it ta be a surprise." She stopped puffing her cheeks, so at least she was a little more satisfied with this answer.

"Fine. Keep your little secret, but you better not spend it all in one place." Minnie warned playfully, as she adjusted herself to sit in his lap with her legs to one side of him and nestled her head into the crook of his neck. She'd keep it in the back of her mind for a while, after all, she knew that twinkle in his eye all too well, and she knew he was up to something, but what, she could never guess.

"Don't worry, I promise I won't." He chuckled back at her. He then silently eyed her moving into his lap, and once she was all settled and happy as a clam, he couldn't help but playfully quip, "Ya really don't want me going home just yet do ya?"

" _Nope_. I want you all to myself for just a _little_ while longer." Minnie remarked nonchalantly. It were almost as if she didn't care how late at night it was.

"Alright, toots, just a little bit longer, but then I gotta go okay? We both need ta sleep sometime ya know. An' don't ferget I'm comin' by tomorrow so you'll have me all ta yerself then too." Mickey reminded her. At the last part of his sentence, it seemed to please her as she gave a quick peck to his neck.

Just as he was about to reciprocate with a kiss her forehead for good measure, he heard the sound of a car engine behind them. What was strange about it was that there were no reflections of the lights passing by, which any sane person should've had their lights on at this time of night. The sound of the engine even stopped behind them, just across the street. Mickey looked into the rearview mirror and saw a dark colored car that was maybe brown, he didn't hear a car door slam so he knew the driver hadn't gotten out yet. So Mickey waited, one minute turned to five seemingly quickly and no one came out of that car, and it was too dark to see what was going on in the driver's side of the car which was the visible side of it anyway.

Not wanting to alarm Minnie, he kept it in the back of his mind and decided that he really should get home. He opened the car door and scooted them out, carrying her bridal style. After quickly making sure that she had her purse, and her car keys in his own hand, he made his way up her porch steps and set her down in front of her front door. Minnie kept her grip on him even when her feet touched the ground, still not wanting him to go anywhere just yet.

"Thanks for everything tonight, Mickey." She said finally, looking up at him with admiration and appreciation.

"Anytime, Min. I'll see ya tomorrow, okay?" He felt her give him a loving squeeze, and he promptly returned it.

"I'm already looking forward to it." She replied, and then leaned on her tip toes to kiss him. After a few seconds of indulging they both pulled away, and an afterthought came to her. "Call me when you get home, okay?"

"Funny, I was gonna ask ya if I should." He replied with a smile. It was an old habit of theirs, just to make sure nothing happened on the way home. "Of course I'll call, as long as ya don't fall asleep on me."

"I have no intention of falling asleep just yet." She shot back playfully with a slight roll of her eyes.

"Better not be pullin' all-nighters too." He teased with raised eyebrows and a wagging finger.

"Oh, come now, I only did that once when I was planning a bow show that I had forgotten about." Minnie deadpanned. Mickey couldn't help but chuckle at her, as it would be something she would do. Minnie then pulled him against her for one final squeeze and whispered into his ear, "Please be careful on your way home. I don't trust that car across the street." Mickey smirked at that, as he was glad that she noticed it too.

"I don't either but let's just act natural and assume that the driver fell asleep in the car." Mickey whispered back. Making them look normal, he pecked her cheek and pulled away with a, "G'night, Min," as he then placed her keys in her palm.

"Good night Mickey. I already can't wait for tomorrow." She replied and then preceded to unlock her door.

"Ha-huh! Neither can I, toots." He quipped, and waited for her to step inside. Common courtesy after all.

As soon as she was inside she turned back and gave one last wave at him, which he returned, and then she closed the door and he headed down the porch steps, hopped over her front gate and walked briskly down the street in the direction of his house.

After a few minutes and quickly nearing his house, he saw something amiss. His house lights were out. Every last one of them, even the porch lights, and he knew that he left them on when he left. He also knew that he locked his door on the way out, so maybe there was a power outage…or someone sabotaged his fuse box which was unfortunately out in the open in the back of the house. He could only hope that it was the former, but the strange brown car across from Minnie's put him on edge, and it was enough to make him regret leaving her alone. However, she could take care of herself, so he tried not to worry too much.

Still…he had his dark house to worry about, and he didn't have his cell phone with him to provide a tiny bit of light. He looked across the street and luckily found his cousin's house lit up from the inside. Manfred always helped him when he needed it, so he jogged on over and knocked on the door.

"When the snow melts, what does it become?" Manfred's muffled voice asked from the other side of the door. The common are-you-really-who-you-say-you-are question placed between the two of them ever since the master of disguise impersonator, Miklos came and impersonated Mickey and ruined his reputation a little with his friends. Manfred had his own way of being able to tell the difference and this question was the more immediate way to tell. Minnie was also able to tell and made it more obvious by tricking Miklos into getting a tattoo.

"Spring." Mickey replied simply. Manfred then opened the door and his eyes widened at his cousin's attire. Though he stood aside to let his cousin in.

"Mickey Theodore Mouse, where _have_ you been at this hour of the night?" Manfred questioned as he shut the door, in his best impression of Clarabelle Cow stumbling upon something juicy and scandalous.

"Minnie wanted me ta be her bodyguard tonight for a swanky business meeting that turned out to actually be a dinner party of sorts at Alfonzo's." Mickey replied, blushing only because he knew how his cousin would react.

"Wait…Seriously? So does this mean, you and Minnie are back together?" Mickey nodded with a small smile. "Finally! Now we can get over this awkwardness down at the station." Manfred jumped in glee. Then a sudden thought came to him. "Hold the phone, you met Alfonzo? How'd he react to you? And what in Sam Hill is his actual job?"

"He reacted surprisingly well when he saw me, he looked me over as if he was fascinated with my physique. Though he fainted when he found out that I was Minnie's boyfriend, he seemed ta forget it as soon as he woke up, and he's actually a perfumist. Minnie's been trying ta use him ta fund and supply her with fragrances fer a line of scented bows." Mickey explained.

Manfred laughed so hard that he had tears in his eyes. "She would do that!" He finished off his laughter as a chill suddenly went up his spine at one specific tidbit of information. "Wait a tick, he's a perfumist? And he looked you over for your physique? That's kinda creepy."

"Well, he looked me over only 'cause he needed someone ta go into the Amazon ta get an ingredient ta help make the fragrances needed for Minnie's orders of scents fer the bow line that she's workin' on. Guys have apparently been going missing so the team that's down there hasn't gotten the ingredient in a while and they need someone adventurous ta do it, so I volunteered. It can't be that bad." Mickey added.

"Welp, you've certainly been busy digging your grave for yourself. Guys are going missing and you volunteer to go get something that probably ain't really worth the effort. I'm honestly starting to believe I can't leave you alone half the time or else you'll make a really dumb decision like that!" Manfred retorted.

"Well, Poindexter was quite convincing so it ain't entirely my fault, and it's the Amazon Manny, the guys goin' missing probably just got lost, or worse eaten." Mickey defended carefully. He watched curiously as Manfred's ear twitched at the name.

"Poindexter? Our Poindexter? Bartholomew 'doesn't even look like a Bart' Poindexter? Poindexter from High school Poindexter?" Manfred blurted out his guesses.

"Yes, yes, yes, and yes. That Poindexter. He's working for Alfonzo under unfortunate circumstances as his lead perfume making scientist. He couldn't tell me exactly how unfortunate even through our old codes." Mickey confessed, crossing his right ankle over his knee in the chair he sat in while Manfred paced as he listened, though he clearly had something important to say on the matter as a whole.

"Ugh, lovely. Our old friend could be getting paid by a billionaire to be a mad scientist…" Manfred sighed exasperatedly, stopping by his mantle to lean against it and rub his temple. He then thought of an old habit of his cousin's whenever he was with Minnie and decided to remind him of it just in case before he spilled his end of terrible news. "Have you called Minnie yet?"

"Huh? Oh, gosh! No I haven't. That was the original reason I came here. My house is probably out of power and I fergot ta charge my cellphone so I don't even have it with me." Mickey confessed, in a panic.

"Borrow mine." Manfred quipped, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and tossing it to Mickey, who caught it expertly.

"Thanks, pal." Mickey quipped as he dialed Minnie's number. It went to the answering machine of course, but as soon as he was able to say that it was just him did she pick up. He explained to her the whole situation, and carefully worded that Manfred would help him fix the lights in his house with the help of the biggest honking flashlight he ever did see. While she updated him on the weird car across the way. It hadn't moved and she still hadn't heard a car door slam in its direction. Mickey warned her to at least keep the outside lights on, and any alarm system that she had. Then they said their goodbyes and hung up.

"You have no idea, how happy it makes me to hear you two make nice-nice again." Manfred couldn't help but compliment, since he heard the whole conversation, even her end of it. "Though you do realize all this is adding up very creepily right?"

"That depends on what you've been dying ta tell me since I mentioned that I finally met Alfonzo." Mickey retorted lightly. He was curious as to what Manfred had to say, because he doesn't pace around unless it's something big.

"Just keep an open mind and no questions until I'm done, m'k?" Mickey nodded, keeping quiet. "To start, the Chief made me do the undercover work around Alfonzo, since you refused to do it, even though your reasons were understandable. But I was still worried about whether or not the guy working in missing person's finding all those connections to Alfonzo were accurate or not. I'm slowly beginning to think they are, and here's why…No one knew, what his occupation was, so for the start of my undercover work I went to a black market for info. As soon as I mentioned Alfonzo's full name, everyone within hearing distance scattered away from me like I had the plague. So obviously he was a big influence of someone not to mess with. So I thought he was a mob boss or something, I was corrected by one brave soul who actually sold Alfonzo's products, and told me that Alfonzo was a Godsend, mostly for making him rich because of Alfonzo's products, as at least 30% of the profit went to the seller. As it turns out the guy who gave me this," He quickly went over to a side table's drawer and pulled out a small bottle of what looked like perfume and set it on the coffee table in front of Mickey and quickly warned him ' _not to sniff it_ ' before continuing. "Said that it was the quickest way to get into someone's pants, and it's getting huge in the sex industry. That," He pointed to the bottle. "Is a bottle of Freslin, and Freslin's base element is found in the Senal gland of sentient beings. It's an attractant, one can be easily attracted to someone and vice versa. It could be strong, weak, anything, as that just depends on where it's manufactured. It's basically a bottle of pheromones turned up to eleven, especially Alfonzo's brand, because he prefers to make them strong. And you, my dear cousin, just confirmed to me that this really is his handiwork since he really is a perfumist." Manfred finished. After a few second he quipped, "Questions are now welcome." And waited patiently for Mickey's reaction.

Mickey was hesitant on speaking as he was taking his time letting it all sink in. He wasn't really sure how to respond, but there was one question that went through him that had to be asked for the sake of the police department's suspicions on Alfonzo. "How dangerous do ya think this stuff is?"

"Truthfully? One whiff of the whole bottle by itself works quicker than chloroform on a rag to knock someone out. But spread it out along skin and one whiff within a three foot radius gets someone attracted to you and aroused by you within seconds regardless of conversation topics." Manfred let it sink in for a solid five minutes before quipping another worry he had with Mickey's side of information. "What's worse is that the Freslin is probably Poindexter's doing since he's working for Alfonzo and everything."

"No, I don't think so." Mickey disagreed. "He let on that he wasn't proud of his job, but I'm sure he was also trying to warn me that Alfonzo's even smarter than he looks. Especially since I asked whether or not ta even trust Alfonzo, though he probably thought I meant should I trust him with Minnie. He said not wholeheartedly, which was enough fer me because Alfonzo acted so flamboyant on the surface."

"Thank goodness for Poindexter then. I'm sorry I doubted him." Manfred amended. Mickey was right, Poindexter would never do anything against their old unwritten code of honor, at least not without good reason. "Did you at least get his number?" Manfred amended.

"Darn tootin' I did." Mickey replied cheerfully.

After Mickey traded off numbers with his cousin, it was high time the two of them got to the bottom of Mickey's darkened house. Manfred really did have a big honking thing of a flashlight, it was so heavy duty it could've been mistaken for a search light, but the important thing was that it helped get Mickey's house lights back on. A fuse had popped on its own so there was no worry for sabotage. Manfred was well prepared and had brought a spare fuse just in case.

"So you're still gonna go through with it, even after all that I just told you?" Manfred asked as he started heading back home across the street.

"I'm doin' it fer the money, Manfred. I'll take the risk of his darker side of business 'cause he seems ta like Minnie enough ta not even consider doing anything out of line ta her, regardless of him crossing the line of professionalism with those business meetings. Besides, what could he possibly do to me?" Mickey countered.

"Look, I don't know much about the manufacturing process of Freslin, but if either of us finds out about it, we probably won't like it. That's just the feeling I get from all of it. Plus, don't forget about his bodyguards, y'know, the ones hidden within a hundred feet in all four cardinal directions of his person at all times. One of which we bumped into that one time and that was technically how we really met Alfonzo." Manfred shot back.

"I forgot about his bodyguards, but I'll still take my chances. I'm gonna earn that money no matter what." Mickey stood his ground.

"It better be a swooning amount to be worth it. What are you gonna do with it anyway?"

"Sorry, pal. I'm only gonna tell ya what I told Minnie." Mickey then smugly put a finger to the side of his nose. "It's a secret."

"Fine, just don't say I didn't warn you when you're running for your life out there in that jungle, rainforest, whatever the heck it is." Manfred rebuffed and tiredly headed back to his own humble abode. "G'night Mickey!" He called over his shoulder.

"G'night, Manny!" Mickey replied over his own shoulder, happy to finally go into a moderately lit house.

He wasn't sure if he'd be able to sleep well, with all this new and creepy information about Alfonzo, even trickier would be hiding it from Minnie. He wasn't good at lying, especially to her. The best thing he could do to keep it from her is try to forget it in the first place. He kind of had to anyway, since he had to keep a straight face when he met up with Alfonzo again the day after the next, and act normal. Easier said than done.

Still adventure is around the corner so stay tuned!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alfonzo, Bartholomew Poindexter, Mac, Rico and Manfred Mouse are the only characters that belong to me. Mickey and Minnie and Chief O'Hara belong to Disney.
> 
> Mickey's Middle name really is Theodore, as I'm going by 107 Mickey Mouse Facts You Should Know on YouTube and the video got it from a French comic.
> 
> Also, Brownie points for whoever guesses where Freslin comes from, as it really is from a Sci-fi TV series, but right now it would give too much away, though by the end of this chapter I've already given away a lot, but not too much I promise.^.^;


	3. Catch Up Date

Mickey awoke the next morning bright eyed and bushy tailed, as he remembered the little date he and Minnie were going on today. Of course he wanted their official reunion date to be special, so he paced his bedroom floor in circles a few times, thinking of all the possibilities and fun things they could do. However, to him it was trickier than it should've been, as he kept in mind that she's probably been spoiled to some extent given that she's been going on casual business meetings with a billionaire who's hopefully been every bit of a gentleman and paid for any food stuff bought during those so called meetings.

A picnic was one of the first things in mind, but after thinking of Alfonzo's time spent with Minnie, he started to think that she's had enough food on an outing, although if this date was going to be an all-day thing, then food was necessary anyway.

He pulled on his ears in frustration as he skipped the food topic and went over other date things to do. Like going to see a movie! Except there wasn't anything good playing that he wanted to see, and Alfonzo was rich enough to probably have bought it for her before it even came out…Well, renting a row boat and just floating around the lake was a pretty good idea…except if they were all alone out there, it would get awkward and she's probably had enough awkwardness from having to put up with Alfonzo in the first place. He dragged a hand down his face, making his muzzle bounce rapidly in agitation.

Granted, he knew that just being able to spend time with each other would be enough to make her happy, that and a bouquet of flowers, flowers from him were special, as she had told him once a little over a decade ago when he tried to really make a date special at last minute because he had forgotten about the date in the first place. Though admittedly, he also tried to keep away images of any fancy bouquets of flowers Alfonzo may have given her over the course of the past few months. That was his jealous downfall when she fake dated Mortimer Rodawn.

Out of ideas entirely, because he didn't want to think of anymore " _business meeting_ " scenarios Minnie had to endure with Alfonzo, he finally settled on the idea of letting her choose, it really was for the sake of her happiness after all. A simple text would suffice for now. It was early enough in the morning that a text wouldn't disturb her if she was still sleeping.

When he turned on his phone, which had fully been charged by now after he got the power back on last night, he found a text message from Poindexter. Apparently the trek for the ingredient in the Amazon would take about a week. Three days to get to it, and three days to get away from it, less if he was somehow quick enough… _Lovely_. And Alfonzo wanted to meet up at his place in daylight the next day. Mickey quickly checked when Poindexter sent the text, and found that he sent it an hour before Mickey himself woke up. _Phew_ , it really was the next day.

Still, Minnie wasn't going to be happy about this. Six days was an awful long time to be away from society, and for her especially it'd be six days too long to be away from the Bowtique left in _**Daisy's**_ hands. Not to mention _packing_ for the trip alone was going to be a nightmare.

He decided to break the news to her later when the time was right. At the moment he preferred just focusing on the two of them being able to spend time together without any worries. So he finally got around to texting her. Satisfied when he sent it, he got dressed for the day before he went downstairs to have breakfast.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he remembered to get the paper sitting on his lawn somewhere, and thus went outside. As soon as he opened the door, he noticed a brown car across the street, sitting just before Manfred's property. It suddenly hit Mickey then of what type of person the car possibly belonged to, because he completely forgot about it since he didn't care in the first place. The _**paparazzi**_ was following Minnie too, and now that Mickey himself has been spotted with her, the tabloids were going to have a field day. He could already see a stupid headline now, _Minnie Mouse Two-Timing a Billionaire_. Not that the article writers even know the whole story anyway, but it still it wasn't going to be pretty. Heck, it was still a wonder that Clarabelle Cow hasn't said anything to him about all this, but she was probably keeping her mouth shut for once just to see how it would all play out while gossiping to her other friends who would listen.

The windows of the brown car weren't tinted, so Mickey could clearly see that there wasn't anyone in it. Well, not from where he was standing anyway. The driver could very well be asleep in the car and waiting for a really big scoop. So Mickey got his paper in peace and headed back inside, being mindful to shut his door quietly, so as not to alert the paparazzi photographer in the brown car, and finally went to go fix himself some breakfast.

Meanwhile, Minnie had woken up just in time to hear her phone's incoming text ding. When she looked at it, she thought it was odd at first that he'd ask her what they should do today, but then knowing him, he'd probably think too much on what Alfonzo had most likely done already and in turn thought she'd be bored of simple activities. So she called him back, and was glad that he answered.

"Hiya, Minnie! What's up?"

"Hi, Mickey, I was just wondering if you had suddenly run out of ideas for our date? Or is it really that you're intimidated that a certain someone _else_ has possibly done everything there is to do?" She inquired playfully.

"A little of both actually." He admitted sheepishly. "But I was leaning towards a picnic on a rented rowboat as a start, but I really didn't wanna overdo something he already did with ya so anything else afterwards is up ta you if ya want, Min."

"You're so sweet." She cooed sweetly at him. "A picnic on a rented rowboat sounds lovely, and as for anything afterwards…how about we see where the day takes us, hm?"

"Ha-huh! Sounds good ta me, Minnie." He replied cheerfully, quite happy that the row boat plan could go on.

"Alrighty then, I'll see you later, Mickey."

"See ya real soon, Minnie." Click.

….

It was awkward when he first thought of this idea in comparison to what Alfonzo has probably already done, as the image of a fancy yacht flashed in Mickey's mind, and it was awkward now as he honestly didn't know what to talk about with her. Well he could talk about all the adventures he's had in their time apart, but he didn't want to start a conversation that was all about him, that would be rude.

Then, there was the topic on her end of Alfonzo himself that really needed to be discussed, but he knew that she'd still be uncomfortable talking about him, since she didn't even want to complain and rant about him last night. Although, knowing her she didn't want to rant and rave and complain about a man that she's been hanging out with pretty much behind her boyfriend's back…

Yeah, that _would_ do it.

It was understandable, but he'd rather get to know his enemy a little better regardless.

"Something bothering you, Mickey? You look tense…" Minnie noted, as she sat across from him in the boat. She could see the tension in his shoulders and it wasn't from rowing.

It really was a paparazzi car parked outside Mickey's house, so he took a back way and hopped over the back fence in his backyard. He had told her that the car had followed him home and that it was most likely paparazzi, so she brought a parasol with her, a bit cliché for a row boat, but it was just in case more gossip press people were lurking in the shadows. Both mice were in casual clothes for this particular outing, she was in her pink and blue combination, and he in his usual red shorts and yellow shoes. After Minnie learned from Clarabelle that she was ending up in the gossip papers with Alfonzo, she always made sure to dress a little more formally, in hopes that the paparazzi wouldn't recognize her if she ever was in casual wear.

"Nothin' much, Min. Just wonderin' a few things… Like how ya met Alfonzo in the first place." He decided to bring it up outright. It was painfully obvious that Alfonzo would be on the brain anyway considering he had agreed to work for him.

Minnie bit her lip bemusedly, as it was a rather interestingly amusing story to her. "I actually met him through his bodyguard."

"You actually met one?" Mickey asked with shock and wide eyes.

"One?" Minnie parroted.

"Yeah, he's got four of 'em. One in each cardinal direction of his person at about a hundred feet at any given time, 'cept for bathroom breaks I suppose. Manfred and I ran into one once and eventually noticed the others, then Alfonzo being the center of their watchful eyes. It was how we knew about him before the gossip papers started buzzin' about ya." Mickey explained.

"Huh, that's weird that he needs that much protection, and I never noticed them either. Anyway, that one bodyguard bought something from one of my bake sales, and I guess he must have shared a cookie with Alfonzo because the next thing I knew, a billionaire had suddenly tracked me down to personally pre-order at least a dozen more. And, well, the rest is history." She finished, and looked up to find Mickey stifling his laughter. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. "Go ahead and laugh, it's silly anyway, and even I can hardly believe it."

"Best way ta some fella's heart is through his stomach, an' I'd say ya did that in record time with him." Mickey said teasingly.

"Not that I'm proud of it." Minnie huffed.

"Hey, at least it's ten times better than getting skewered at a weird angle just 'cause ya weren't looking where ya were goin'." Mickey replied without thinking. When he realized what he said his pupils shrank, there wasn't any excuse in the world that could cover up _that_ , especially since he had already mentioned it last night, though not to that degree. They hadn't even eaten their picnic lunch yet either. _Swell_.

"Mickey." Minnie started in one of those low tones that said he had some explaining to do.

"Yes, dear?" Mickey replied a little too quickly because nervousness was already seeping in.

"Is that the more graphic version of how you got that scar that goes all the way through you?" She asked sternly. He couldn't tell what her opinion on the matter was, but he knew he couldn't lie or get off the subject that easily, so he relented with a sigh before he spoke.

"Yeah, that's how I got it. Thankfully it was a really skinny rapier, so the angle it went in missed all of my vitals. I'm fine, really, it was plenty of months ago, in May I think. A-and Manfred made sure I didn't move or agitate it fer a couple of weeks so it healed up nicely, I promise!" He explained in hopes to calm any worry she had. However, Minnie was quiet for a number of minutes, and she had lowered the parasol closer to herself enough to cover her eyes, and her mouth was neither frowning nor smiling so he really couldn't tell how she was feeling. Getting worried himself he tried to get a response of some sort. "M-Minnie?"

"Where's the scar?" She asked suddenly and sharply.

"Just above my left kidney, though the exit is at a weird angle on my back. I'd show ya but, uh, we're in a boat." He replied as calmly as he could. He did not want to risk them capsizing, this date was already awkward enough, he didn't need a humiliating disaster to make it worse. Although, as sharply and quickly as she had asked, he could still hear the waiver in her tone, she was on the verge of crying.

He watched helplessly as she bit her lip, her eyes were still covered by the parasol, and then she let out a whimper and immediately covered her mouth as soon as it was out. But the damage was done, as the floodgates opened, though of course Mickey was by her side in an instant, or at least as close to her as he could get without wobbling the boat too much. Therefore, he could only kneel before her in the middle of the boat, but at least he was as close as possible.

"Minnie," He started softly, but he didn't know what to say otherwise, as he didn't really know why she was crying, though he could easily guess guilt was one of the reasons. After all, he did eventually end up in the hospital after everything was said and done for that adventure, and could properly attend to the wound. She was most likely feeling guilty that she could've been there for him when he was in the hospital, but wasn't. "It ain't yer fault, Min. I made sure it didn't get out ta anyone, so it's my fault that ya didn't know. I just didn't want ya ta worry."

Minnie shook her head before she finally spoke. "That's not all of why I'm crying, I met Alfonzo in May, and here you were in the hospital and I didn't know about it, and…" She whimpered again as that was the real reason for her guilt surging through.

"Minnie, that's just a dumb coincidence, an' ya did what ya had ta. Sure, I'm surprised Clarabelle didn't mention a darn thing ta either of us after all that's happened these past few months, but it was her especially that I didn't want news of me being in the hospital getting out to. Besides, I don't care about the times ya spent with Mr. Jingles, it doesn't matter ta me at all." Mickey replied with sternness only in the first sentence. His voice was much more casual for the rest of his reply. He hugged her legs with one arm and reached up to wipe away her tears with the other.

Minnie mentally sighed in relief at how forgiving he was. Although she couldn't help but gawk in wonder at how he just referred to Alfonzo. "Mr. Jingles?"

"Well, he does have a jingle bell 'round his neck, and _that_ red waistcoat with green velvet looking pants? He's just setting himself up ta look like a Christmas ornament. All he needs is a white trim somewhere on 'im and he'll be golden." He waved his free hand nonchalantly. Her tears had stopped the second he mentioned the playful nickname, and Mickey was glad it was what slipped out of his tongue instead of his crumbling resolve to keep the secret of what he was going to do with the money, which was something extra special for her. However, it really was best to keep it a secret, as he couldn't guarantee that he'd even get paid if something went scandalously wrong, and Alfonzo was just as bad as any other of Mickey's enemies if what Manfred had told him was anything to worry about.

In any case, Minnie's melodic giggle filled his ears, and he was glad that she was at the very least somewhat happy again, he kissed her right knee and then scooted back to his seat, or tried to anyway. As his beloved had stopped him in his tracks by quickly sitting in his lap, straddling his thighs, as she promptly hugged him resting her head on his shoulder…parasol and all. He returned her gentle embrace, though he awkwardly had her parasol resting on his other shoulder. They breathed in each other's scent and somehow knew everything would be alright, they just had that special sense of comfort with each other, which was something neither had realized that they had missed _that_ the most until then. It was always the little things that were missed the most without realizing it.

However, Mickey still had his doubts. There was something that had always plagued the back of his mind ever since the very phone conversation that unofficially broke them up in the first place, before Alfonzo was even an issue. She had chosen the Bowtique over him, and if she truly was a workaholic, then it was bound to happen again, even if she doesn't mean for it to happen again. So to ease himself a little, he decided to make her promise him something…A guarantee.

"Hey, Min? Think ya can promise me somethin'?" He asked after a while, not able to help that his voice might have sounded forlorn.

Minnie was startled by the sudden sadness in his tone, and pulled away to look at him, but he kept his face emotionless, he was staring off into the distance at first, but only moved his eyes to look at her. She couldn't get a read on him, so for now she indulged him. "Of course, what is it?"

He settled on choosing his words carefully already having a feeling that she would interrupt him because of the subject of the promise he wanted her to make. "Should something happen between us only worse-!"

"It won't." She interrupted sternly. She didn't like wherever he was going with this.

"Please, hear me out an' lemme finish…Should something worse happen between us, and fer whatever reason we break up officially," He paused to lift a finger to her lips because she was going to interject again. Then he continued. "Promise me that regardless of how we feel about each other _**if**_ _it does come to that_ , but I do doubt it… that we'll always be friends, and know that ya can always ask anything of me. That ya can always come ta me fer any favors…Promise?" He asked forlornly again, removing his finger from her lips.

She studied him the whole time he spoke. He seemed extremely serious about this, even though she knew in her heart of hearts that it would _**never**_ come to that. She decided to humor him with his promise, but gave him an additional promise in return. "I promise." She told him, even going as far as to take his left pinky with her own without breaking eye contact. "But I also promise that it will never come to that. You're _**mine**_ , just as I'm _**yours**_." She told him sternly, blushing slightly at her last sentence, but to show that she meant it, she squeezed his pinky with hers much tighter. Then, she kissed him, sealing the deal with a kiss so to speak.

Though surprised by this action, Mickey happily indulged as it was something to get used to all over again. They actually ended up kissing for quite some time, using their noses to breathe. It was mostly Minnie initiating the constant-ness of the kissing, Mickey actually pulled away just a little several times, but Minnie kept persisting. She hadn't had a true taste of him in so long that she couldn't help herself, not that Mickey was complaining, and he certainly wasn't.

Eventually, they finally stopped sucking face, and by last minute decision to actually have their picnic on land rather than in the dinky rowboat. Mostly because they wanted to properly cloud watch, as it was a beautiful day out.

After they ate and started watching the clouds drift by, a sudden scary yet amusing thought came to mind that Mickey couldn't help but voice.

"Ya know, I guess it's pretty good that we got back together sooner rather than later."

"Whaddaya mean?" Minnie asked in genuine curiosity. She could hear the amusement in his voice, and whatever it was that was on his mind had piqued her interest.

"Think about it, what in Sam Hill would we have done for our birthdays, and the Holidays if we kept up on ignoring each other?" He finished and waited patiently for the thought to sink in.

"Huh. You're right, I'm not sure what we would've done. The Holidays would've been awkward and definitely would've felt like something was missing. But I have absolutely no idea what we would've done for our birthdays." Minnie replied.

"I still woulda gotten ya something', but I'd probably just leave it on yer doorstep after knocking." Mickey quipped.

"Mickey~"

"Oh, please, Min. Ya know very well he woulda spoiled ya rotten with an extravagant birthday party, complete with security to keep out unwanted guests like yours truly." He scoffed.

"I don't think I wouldn't've invited you by then, I'd probably invite you just to see you again as a little birthday present to myself." She told him adamantly as she nuzzled into his shoulder. "But you're probably right about Alfonzo setting up the party, he probably would make it fancy."

"And French themed, ma chérie." Mickey quipped cheekily.

"Right," Minnie giggled at him for remembering how much she loved Paris, France before she thought of something important to discuss. "Speaking of Alfonzo…have you heard any specifics yet?"

Mickey sighed with a slight whine, he knew she wasn't going to like it.

"Just how long it's roughly going to take, an' when I tell ya how long, just remember that ya don't hafta come with me if ya don't wanna…" He paused dramatically. "Six days. Three days ta get to the ingredient, and naturally three more ta get away from it."

"You've got to be kidding." Minnie deadpanned, still unable to believe it.

"I kid you not, and again, ya don't hafta come with me if ya don't wanna. I couldn't blame ya even if I wanted ta." Mickey replied earnestly.

"Oh I'm still coming with you alright, if just so you can keep your sanity." Minnie shot back in a spiteful sounding tone of determination.

"Are ya sure? Ya'd have ta leave the Bowtique in Daisy's hands fer that long, and I don't think Cuckooloca alone is enough ta keep Daisy from settin' fire ta the place." Mickey lightly argued.

"I'll close it for the week if I have to, I'm not letting you roam the wilds of the Amazon by yourself for six days!" She spat adamantly.

"I could always bring Manfred or Goofy, they're always down fer whatever wacky situation I get myself into…" He trailed off only because he finally saw the look of death she gave him for trying to convince her from coming with otherwise.

"So says he who originally said right off the bat that I could come with, because he _knows_ I would insist and I still am insisting!" She told him in a low tone that grew as she spoke to an exclamation. She was sitting up, arms akimbo, and glaring daggers at him now, well-meaning daggers, but still…

"Only if yer sure…" He tried again in a softer tone and expression.

"Of course I'm sure, besides it's not really you I'm frustrated with, it's _**him!**_ " She replied a little more softly but with just as much steam.

"Oh, good! Go ahead and complain about 'im, Min. I'm all ears." He said with amusement, rolling onto his stomach and putting his head into his hands as if ready for a story.

Again, Minnie lost whatever fire she had against Alfonzo as she realized again just who she was talking to. She wasn't even sure why she couldn't just rant and rave about the billionaire feline like she could with Daisy.

"You don't want to hear about that…" She started uneasily, turning away from him just a bit.

"Oh, no ya don't! Get back here, Minnie. I wanna hear all yer complaints about him! All of 'em! Don't go holdin' nothin' back on me! Start simple, is he the type ta dribble the ketchup all over the fries or the kind that puts the ketchup in a corner like a normal person?" He had to wrap his arms around her waist to keep her from escaping this particular topic. "I'd rather get ta know my enemy better, Min. Even if it's from annoyed, biased eyes."

"Why do you want to know so badly?" She asked him curiously with one brow straight up.

"I've already got one guy joke up my sleeve but I want more of 'em from little things that are irritating about him." Mickey replied innocently.

"What kind of guy joke?" She asked suspiciously.

"A three-in-one dirty one." He answered with pep. "But I ain't tellin' it ta ya until he does somethin' ta really cheese me off. An' that could take a while 'cause I don't personally know 'im that well yet, and even then I'd have ta explain it ta ya since it's a doozy." _Either that or I won't tell ya until we get married_ , he thought cheekily.

"It's really that bad?" She raised a brow at him.

"I wouldn't tell ya right now even if ya batted yer pretty eyes at me." He replied sincerely. "Now, c'mon~! Dribbled or cornered ketchup?"

"Dribbled, unfortunately." She sighed, relenting on not getting her answer about the dirty joke. She half wondered if she could guess it.

"Ice cream, cup or cone?" He asked another simple one.

"Cup."

"Eh, that one doesn't surprise me." Mickey scoffed before he continued his barrage of questions. "Let's see…Five months and ten days an' he never offered ya prepaid vacation? Not even ta Paraiso or some tropical island somewhere*?"

"Paraiso? What's Paraiso?" Minnie questioned innocently.

"Five-star women's only beach resort and spa. The only men there are all workers, the luckiest ones being masseurs fer obvious reasons." He quipped as he let go of her and rolled onto his back again. "The only reason I know about it is because it's every guy's dream job ta work there so the word gets spread all through high school. I actually managed ta work there once, but it was after I graduated and my birthday's late in the year so I didn't get ta do any fun adult stuff 'cause I was _just_ underage. So they stuck me at the front desk. No fond memories of girls in bikinis fer me. But that's okay, 'cause now I've got you, Min, and yer the best there is."

"Oh, Mickey." She cooed at him as she kissed the top of his head. "You're so sweet!"

"But seriously, no prepaid vacations from him?" Mickey persisted.

"Of course not, I told you that us going to the Amazon would be my first vacation, didn't I? Besides, even if he had offered I wouldn't've taken it, that's just a _little_ too creepy." Minnie replied earnestly, shivering a little at the thought because of how creepy of a concept it was.

"Hmm, true, but I'm sure the girls would've convinced ya ta take 'im up on his offer, ta milk every luxury they could outta 'im if anything." He lightly argued. Minnie actually laughed out right at that because it was so true.

"Ha! You're right, they probably would. Anything to get a break." She chuckled sincerely, then she thought of something that she also needed to ask. "Did your friend say anything else about all this?"

"Well, I do have ta meet with Alfonzo tomorrow, so ya might as well come with me so we can break the news ta him that yer also going ta the Amazon." Mickey replied. As soon as he finished his sentence his cell phone vibrated, loudly. By common courtesy he ignored it since he was with Minnie. However the phone refused to be ignored as it continued vibrating, obviously it was a call, and still he ignored it, until Minnie told him to check it anyway that is.

So with her permission he looked at who was calling and made a worried face he told her that it was Poindexter before Minnie even had the chance to ask. So he answered it and got some worrisome news. Alfonzo didn't just want to meet up tomorrow, he wanted to _**leave**_ tomorrow as well.

Apparently Poindexter did tell Alfonzo that Minnie was coming, and that was what set the feline off for wanting to get things done ASAP. They'd be taken down to the Amazon by Alfonzo's private jet plane so at least that worry was out of the way. Thus, the mice quickly gathered their things and all but blazed to their respective homes to quickly pack. As soon as Minnie finished her packing and checking oh-so many times if she had everything she needed, she headed over to Mickey's since he had offered for her to stay in his guest bedroom, which he customized to her tastes in his boredom and spare time in the months they spent apart. It was just easier if they were together when they left for Alfonzo's the next morning.

"If I weren't already interested in cutting ties with him, I would kill him right about now." Minnie said gratingly through her teeth as she and Mickey plopped down on his couch in exhaustion after he finished packing.

"I would too if I were a lesser mouse, but instead I'm gonna be civil about it and just put that as the first strike fer me to up the price of what I want him ta pay me." Mickey replied smugly.

"Ooh, smart and sneaky. So what are you gonna use that money for?" She complimented and asked the million dollar question for the second time since it's been established. She even tried one of her usual buttering him up tactics of snuggling against him cutely.

"Nice try, toots. Yer cute an' all, but I'm still not tellin'. It's a surprise fer you and it's gonna stay that way." He told her with a smirk.

"Mickey you don't have to get me anything." Minnie said demurely.

"Yes, I do." He said simply, lifting up her left hand and bringing it to his lips, kissing the back of her hand on her middle/ring finger's knuckle. "But I can't guarantee it or anything else until I get paid."

Minnie silently sucked in a sharp breath at the combination of his words and where he kissed the back of her hand. She had an inkling of what he was getting at, but like he said there was no guarantee that it would come to fruition until he was paid for his services. So to hide that she even had an idea of what he wanted to use the money for, she instead sighed wistfully and played dumb for the lack of a better term.

"Alright, keep your secret still. But you still better not spend it all in one place."

"Ha-huh, depending on how many more inconveniences we run into, which with our luck is definitely gonna be a lot, I certainly won't be spending it all in one place." Mickey chuckled with affirmation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Paraiso is from a side webcomic of a main webcomic. The main webcomic is called Las Lindas, and Paraiso is from the side webcomic Breasts are the Best, which is naturally Mature rated, but still tasteful in most senses.
> 
> As for the some other tropical island...well that's a hint at another project of mine that runs in the same vein with this story only instead Alfonzo does offer a tropical island vacation and Minnie, Daisy, and Cuckooloca accept. I'll get around to it eventually.
> 
> This is also set before all the little episodes of Minnie and the girls going to all those different countries in Minnie's Bowtique.
> 
> Next chapter we'll be in the Amazon for sure, and then the rating will be rightfully what it is.


	4. We're Going After WHAT?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally we're getting somewhere, and we'll keep getting somewhere in the next chapter even. ;D

The next morning, the mice got up early at Alfonzo’s request, despite the exhaustion that came with having to get up at the crack of dawn when one is not used to it, at least they’d be traveling in the billionaire’s private jet. Which was exceptionally nice and fancy on the inside, from cushy leather seats, to the red carpeting and the wide side tables next to the seats as they formed zig-zag patterns all facing the aisle. There was even a couch for goodness sake.

In any case, because of the early hour, Minnie slept, though Mickey wasn’t as comfortable sleeping with a guy he didn’t know all that well sitting a mere foot from him, even if Poindexter was also there, his old friend just wasn’t enough reassurance, not to mention all four of Alfonzo’s bodyguards were also there, dog men that were so buff that they looked more like gorillas in their black suits and ties. As soon as it was evident and guaranteed that Minnie was asleep, it gave the gentlemen a chance to talk.

“My apologies for the suddenness of all this.” Alfonzo began uneasily.

“Aw, don’t worry too much about it, I expected as much, but it is going on the tab, an’ besides, it’s _her_ ya should be apologizing ta, she was more livid than I was about this.” Mickey replied with a smirk. Not just at the fact that Minnie was upset with the billionaire but also for the fact that Minnie was sleeping against Mickey himself _in front_ of Alfonzo, who had quite noticeably squirmed at her choice of sleeping  position. That gave the male mouse a boost of pride and confidence more than anything.

“Right, well, old friend, as it turns out we have made a slight change of plans since we know you’re going to charge for each inconvenience, we decided to actually use that to our advantage. We want just a couple more things besides the ingredient needed to complete Miss Mouse’s order.” Poindexter continued. “Unfortunately the ingredients we need, the ingredient for Miss Mouse included, are a bit controversial not to mention surprisingly difficult to get. For her order we need Alraune nectar.” Mickey’s jaw dropped but he said nothing because he knew there was more, and so Poindexter continued still. “For the other things, we need some fluff of a Barometz, and as much as you can carry for a large bucket of Prisoner fruit.”

Mickey felt as if he were hit by a truck or better yet, a ton of bricks, no worse, even though he was on a plane he might as well have been hit by it. No wonder Alfonzo was antsy. Mickey knew what all of those were and Poindexter knew that he knew…because it was one of those dirty things boys look up when they’re young. High school especially brought out the not very gentlemanly behavior since it was an age when hormones are raging the most.

All of the ingredients needed _were_ or _from_ flora, but two of them were more sentient than the common house plant. The Alraune and the Barometz were actually female sentient plants that lured men in with their scent, once they caught a man of their fancy, copulation was ongoing and practically eternal. Prisoner fruit was just as bad, though probably the most nutritious thing on the whole damn planet, when eaten it increases beauty, pheromones, stamina, and in the long run…sex drive. The worst part is that Prisoner fruit is addicting, so keep scarfing them down and all of the aforementioned attributes amplify and helps the user get a mate for mating season faster than radioactive jackrabbits on Valentine’s Day.

“I hope this won’t impede your ability to work, Mister Mouse.” Alfonzo inquired with a small understanding smile.

“Oh, I’ll still do it alright. Just know that personally I think yer insane fer working with these kinds of materials.” Mickey replied honestly.

“Duly noted.” Both Alfonzo and Poindexter quipped in unison.

“So, how do you intend on telling her?” Alfonzo then asked, nodding his head at Minnie.

“Good gosh, I have no idea. There’s no way I can tell her with a straight face.” Mickey said dreading the thought of telling Minnie about the ingredients and where a few of them come from, pinching the bridge of his nose and muzzle. Then he looked to his high school buddy with slight hope. “Please tell me that ya’ve got somethin’, a pamphlet, a booklet, anything so that I don’t verbally have to tell her.”

Poindexter smirked and reached into his lab coat for just such a thing, having known Mickey was likely to ask for it since it was such a… _unique_ subject.

“Here, I have more where that came from.” The blonde chimpanzee said as he gave the small booklet to Mickey. “She’s not going to kill you when she finds out, will she?”

“She might.” Mickey quipped before adding, “Just keep in mind that she’s the type who will drag my tush back ta the States if she doesn’t like any of it. But I will sneak out in the middle of the night ta get this job done if I hafta.”

“Interesting to know.” Alfonzo replied in fascination. “By the by, and I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how did you meet Minnie darling.”

Mickey’s ear twitched in slight intrigue that Alfonzo was just as prone to using her pet name even when not exactly in her conscious presence. Other than that he actually hesitated before answering because that was the million dollar question that he needed to think about. “Haaa…see the thing about that is, we’ve known each other fer so long that neither of us remember it the same way. I remember it one way an’ Minnie remembers it another, her way is better by the way so yer better off askin’ her about it. She did tell me how she met you though, and I bet she never told you that she wasn’t always that good at baking.” The last part he added as he got a sneaky idea of a wonderful story to tell.

“Sounds like you have a story behind that fact.” Poindexter noted.

“Indeed I do.” Mickey gave a very mischievous grin.

“Please do tell.” Alfonzo prodded politely with a raised brow to show his utmost interest.

“Just promise not to tell her that I told you this story.” They both nodded so Mickey continued. “Well, a really long time ago back before screens for windows on a summer day were invented, Minnie made this batch of really terrible biscuits, they were as solid as rocks they were so inedible. Now it was around lunchtime and of course we had the window open when all of a sudden from down the street we hear a call for help from a little old lady whose purse just got stolen, followed by the padding of the thief’s footsteps heading down our way. So I thought quickly and grabbed my biscuit offa my plate and chucked it out the window an’ all anyone heard next was a very loud thunk of something with the density of a baseball hitting a fella and the body of that same fella falling flat on the pavement like a ton of bricks.”

“Let me guess, you actually managed to hit that thief with the biscuit.” Poindexter inquired with a knowing grin but still in half belief but knew Mickey’s luck well enough to know it was all true. Truthfully he was already chuckling inside.

“Darn right I did, and that’s not all. The poor sap was out cold, and when a patrol officer finally showed up to handcuff the guy and officially give back the old lady’s purse, he told us that he had to put the biscuit in a baggy for evidence since no one down at the station was gonna believe him otherwise. Poor Minnie was so humiliated though she had no choice but to allow it, she didn’t talk ta me again fer about two weeks after that.” Mickey finished proudly. 

“Yet you’re still mighty proud of the achievement after that aren’t you?” Poindexter knowingly guessed again.

“Darn tootin’ I am.” Mickey replied proudly, and his grin grew even wider at the sight of Alfonzo trying to hold back his laughter so much that he was leaning on his closest bodyguard for support. Then a low voice came from right next to Mickey and everyone just froze.

“You had best not have told them the biscuit story, Mickey.”

Mickey gulped before he dared to say anything. “Go on back ta sleep, Min. It’s gonna be a long flight, roughly, what ten hours?” He looked between his old friend and temporary employer for confirmation. The two nodded but Alfonzo continued.

“Ten hours it is, and we insist you continue resting, Minnie darling, and even if he did tell us that story, it doesn’t make me think any less of you my dear.” He tried to reassure suavely.

Well, there went any miniscule hope Mickey had for trusting Alfonzo any. A back handed toss under the bus is what that just was. Especially since now Mickey’s ear was being yanked on by his beloved, gently enough that it didn’t really hurt so much as the fact that he was yanked down to her level which was an awkward position as it was. “We’ll be talking about this later.” Minnie hissed into his ear. She let go of him only after he whispered back a “Yes, dear.” He had to roll his neck on the other shoulder that her head wasn’t still resting on after that, just to get the kink out of his neck.

“Thank you for trying to reassure me Alfonzo, but a low blow like that deserves pay back.” Minnie quipped gratingly, giving up on sleep for now but not really moving from leaning against Mickey’s side except sitting up a little. “Mickey starches his ears every morning to keep them nice and round.”

“I stopped doin’ that ages ago.” Mickey interjected with a roll of his eyes. He wasn’t in show business anymore since they had to close down the House of Mouse, so he no longer had any need to keep up appearances with his ears being perfectly round.

“I did always wonder why you smelled starchy all those years ago.” Poindexter couldn’t help but comment with a teasing grin, fully enjoying the blush that came across Mickey’s face.

“Hmm…methinks you’ll have to try a much deeper darker secret than that to embarrass him at this point Minnie darling.” Alfonzo chuckled.

“I would, but unfortunately he doesn’t have much of anything else besides that, at the top of my head anyway.” Minnie replied with a sigh.

“I’ve got one.” Poindexter offered.

“Don’t. You. Dare.” Mickey warned with a hiss through his teeth.

“During a game of Crypts and Creepers he got a really bad roll on a spell he was trying to cast and turned into a sheep, I tried to help him turn back to normal, but I also got a bad roll and got absorbed by him so we became a two headed sheep. Eventually we consecutively got better rolls to fix ourselves and our dungeon master decided to make our two headed sheep body a flaming sheep wagon while we reverted back to normal.” Poindexter finished, noticing Mickey’s intense sigh of relief. “What story did you think I was going to go with?”

“I dunno, maybe one of our encounters with that she-devil of a class representative.” Mickey replied with more relief in his voice.

“Oh, heavens no, those time were traumatic for all of us, Anabelle Gato was truly a terror in heels. I hear she became a jewel thief after we graduated, even gave herself a stage name, I think it was after a playing card…Ace of Spades I think.” Poindexter retorted gently. At the mention of the familiar name both mice jumped.

“WHAT?!” The mice gasped in unison, then they looked at each other and asked in unison again. “What are the odds?”

 “Wait…Gato… that means…” Mickey mused aloud at the bit of information and slowly looked to Alfonzo for some sort of conformation.

“Yes, unfortunately she’s my slightly older twin sister, but at least she was nice enough to cut away any ties that could link her to me because of her little stage name.” Alfonzo sighed in exasperation, it was obvious it was something he didn’t want to admit. “She preferred going to public school even though we were rich enough to be home schooled with the finest education. I always thought she was strange for that.”

Mickey didn’t know what to think anymore, so many memories from what she was like in high school surfaced after so long of being forgotten and nearly wiped from his mind, in comparison to as he knew her now…it was a stark difference…people _can_ change given enough time. Still, it was a lot to take in so to avoid thinking too deeply on it he changed the subject.

“Well, as bizarre as all that is ta find out, I’ve still got it beat with one more embarrassing story of my own, and it’s so embarrassing that I can’t believe I’m going to admit it…. _Before_ I met Minnie, I almost married a girl after knowing her fer only a month.” There was only one small lie in that admittance, there was never a woman in his life _before_ Minnie. Minnie herself caught the lie, as she already knew the real story, but thankfully she was understanding about it as she was now since she understood why Mickey wasn’t telling the others the truth…it was none of their business really.

“Oh my giddy Aunt Mabel….you didn’t…” Poindexter gawked at him in slight disbelief.

“Well, I didn’t marry her obviously. There ain’t no ring on this finger… _yet_.” Mickey replied with a smirk. Minnie’s ear twitched at the nearly belated ‘yet’ but it went unnoticed. Though she did notice that he subtly interlaced his hand in hers and rubbed the back of her hand affectionately with his thumb, and since it was her left hand, that doubled her inklings and suspicion.

“Do I dare ask what made you change your mind on nearly marrying her?” Alfonzo queried, still in disbelief himself.

“One, in case it wasn’t already obvious, I was young and stupid fer nearly jumping the gun in the first place. Two, she and I did not get her father’s blessing which was for a pretty good reason, since – three, she had this one little issue that she didn’t tell me about until last minute and it was a deal breaker, and that’s where I’m gonna leave it at.” Mickey answered confidently.

Both Alfonzo and Poindexter exchanged looks of understanding and satisfaction as well as grunts of agreement that it was a good choice on Mickey’s part. The bodyguards however, cringed amongst each other and only Mickey could guess why.

“It was a mutual agreement not ta get married!” Mickey scoffed at them.

“How much taller was she than you?” Poindexter asked knowingly with a smirk.

“Not too much taller, maybe about a head or two. My eyes reached her neck at the very least. And before either of ya ask, she was blonde.” Mickey replied with a sigh and a roll of his eyes.

The cringe became audible and it wasn’t just from the bodyguards, and even Minnie made a slight noise that was a mixture between a scoff and whatever noise the other gentlemen were making to sound like an audible cringe.

It took several moments but the subject was eventually changed and they all got to talking again, and occasionally napping as they idly passed the time.

Ten hours later, they finally landed and to the mice it appeared to be on a private airstrip, making the both of them somewhat suspicious. Not that it wasn’t already considering the fact that Alfonzo had to get ingredients from the depths of the God forsaken **_Amazon_**.

After getting off the plane, they had to take a ferry boat down the Amazon River itself from the mouth of the river, all the way to around Manaus and then traveled a little ways in the jungle in between the Purus and Madeira Rivers. Finally, after the extra four hours of that travel, they reached base camp and despite Poindexter’s admittance of the camp being a team of men, it was actually populated by men **_and_** women however, the men outnumbered the women but it was hard to tell otherwise.

In any case, the mice were promptly shown to their tents which were, surprisingly, really far apart from each other, and this base camp was huge. Minnie’s tent was practically next door to Alfonzo’s in the center of the camp, and Mickey’s tent was near where they came in from as well as the outskirts and appeared to have been a storage tent, making it painfully obvious which mouse Alfonzo preferred, especially since Minnie’s tent had extra furniture in hers, like a vanity mirror and a changing screen.

The distance between the tents was so obnoxiously far apart that Minnie just wasn’t comfortable with it, that and being so close to Alfonzo really. She was so uncomfortable about it that she pulled Mickey aside and whispered insistently to bunk with him, while taking the changing screen too of course.

Mickey opened his mouth to agree automatically, but stopped himself in remembering that he finally had to face the music and give her the pamphlet with all the things they’d be hunting down and things to avoid as well, since he got to read the whole darn thing himself in the intervals when Minnie and everyone else except the bodyguards (that he could tell) were asleep. It was just a refresher for him, but he knew Minnie wasn’t going to be happy about it, and would probably take back her little request about bunking with him as soon as she soaked in the knowledge in the pamphlet.

“Again, ya don’t hafta come with me if ya don’t wanna.” He told her after telling her what they were after while she sifted through the pamphlet. He turned to leave it at that so he wouldn’t have to see her facial expressions, with the best excuse to get the geography layout from Alfonzo and Poindexter, but Minnie grabbed his arm before he could go anywhere.

“How much money did you request from Alfonzo?” She asked with a straight face that made Mickey quirk a brow since he didn’t hear any sort of growing anger in the way she asked.

“A lot.” He answered simply but quickly continued to elaborate before she could possibly chastise him for skimping on the bill in the long run. “But the fact that he even wants such scandalous things made me up the price. I haven’t done the math on the current total yet but those things he wants is 5,000 a piece ta me, and a range of 500 and up depending on what other stuff we might run into.” And a ton of other fees for the suddenness of the flight, the length of the flight etc. Scrooge McDuck would’ve been proud.

“Good, that sounds fair enough.” Minnie replied coolly, though not inclined to release his arm just yet. “Is there anything to counter act the effects the Alarune and the Barometz seem to have?” She asked in the skepticism he had long since been expecting.

“G-gas masks, th-their scent is the m-main problem, they can s-seduce anybody with that alone.” He stuttered, and he honestly could not believe that he was really having this conversation with her, he felt like dying from embarrassment would be a sweet release, but he continued to elaborate for her since she really needed to know what they were dealing with. “The Prisoner Fruit is also not ta be underestimated since it can be made into food and drinks, so around here don’t eat or drink anything pink, even if they say its strawberry, they’re probably lying.”

“Alrighty then... Now is there anything besides gasmasks that can _prevent_ the effects of the Alarune and Barometz?” Minnie asked in emphasis with a slight grating in her voice, finally showing a sign of irritation. She mostly asked to test him a little, since she did **_not_** like what she was reading in this pamphlet.

A muscle in Mickey’s cheek awfully close to his eye twitched before he could answer reluctantly though as plainly as possible. “Yes, but hopefully it won’t have ta come ta that, and it ain’t something I’d _ever_ ask of ya anyway.” He knew she was testing him, everything that needed to be known _was_ in that pamphlet. Absolutely everything, even the fact that both sentient plant girls, though habitually capable of luring men, were extremely loyal once they caught one. Also, the ones who hadn’t caught one yet were extremely understanding and don’t take another’s man, however the proof of the claimed territory of a man is sexual since everything is deduced by scent, hence Mickey’s reply. He was still surprised when she pecked his lips because of his reply though.

“Hm-mm, thanks sweetie, you’re so sweet and considerate,” she cooed affectionately with a small laugh as she hugged him, pecking his cheek as he froze in confusion. “But dropping this little bomb of _questionable_ information is _not_ going to stop me from bunking with you, Mickey Mouse.”

That brought him out of his stupor.

“B-b-but wouldn’t it be easier if I bunked with _you?_ Ya’ve already got all yer furniture an’ yer probably closer ta the direction we hafta go anyway, an’ all I’ll need ta bring inta yer tent is my cot since there really isn’t any furniture in my tent besides that an’ a buncha boxes.” He argued lightly and reasonably. He saw the gears turn in her head as she contemplated his reasoning and she sighed as she agreed.

“You’re right, that would be easier. I just don’t want Alfonzo eavesdropping on us is all.”

“Or walking in on us even?” Mickey couldn’t help but ask cheekily, having a sneaking suspicion that was what she really meant.

“That too.” She admitted with a blush, squeezing him tighter in affection.

“Mickey? Minnie? Is that really you? What in the world would possess you to come all the way down here?” Came an all too familiar voice of an older man of science. The mice pulled away from each other and turned and were delighted to see a familiar face to the both of them.

“No way…” Mickey muttered under his breath then raised his voice to a more audible level for the sake of conversation. “Doc Static? Minnie and I are here ta go on…the next expedition I guess, fer some questionable ingredients. What about you?” He had answered the good doctor first before asking a similar question since he didn’t want to get into an ‘I asked you first’ run around.

“Oh dear, you’re going in next? Here, take these, you’ll need them if you’re going anywhere near the Alarune and Barometz patches.” Doctor Cosmo Static queried, and procured a couple of specialized looking gas masks. Not noticing the ‘I told you so’ smirk Mickey gave Minnie, and the roll of her eyes she gave Mickey in response. “I’m here because I needed some funding on my upcoming projects and this was the highest paying job I could find, it’s easy enough even if the conditions are borderline atrocious for obvious reasons.”

“We’re here for the money too, well Mickey is actually, I’m just here to keep him out of trouble, and that’s besides the fact that this is all my fault for trying to be a business partner to a billionaire.” Minnie added for the sake of it, sounding irritated as she mentioned Alfonzo as indirectly as possible.

“It was you he’s been fancying lately?! Oh dear…If I had known, I wouldn’t have…” Doc stopped himself and frantically looked around to see if anyone was listening in on them, while he saw no one, he didn’t dare chance it and kept himself as vague but straight forward as possible. “Just don’t go anywhere near him alone, Minnie. Please, he may be my employer, but I don’t necessarily trust him.” He warned frantically in as loud of a whisper as he dared, thankful for his friends being mice and having really good hearing with those big ears of theirs.

“Thank you for the warning, Doc, but I already have no intention of _ever_ being alone with Alfonzo.” She replied demurely, but unable to help the smirk spreading across her face and into a sly grin as she looped her arm around Mickey’s and gave it a loving squeeze.

Mickey gave a mock scoff that was more of a one note chuckle and bounced his head around in a shrug of a nod as he figured out a role of his that she had tasked him with hadn’t ended yet.

“So I’m still playing bodyguard, huh?”

“That’s right, handsome.” Minnie answered easily with a bat of her eyelashes.

“Eh, fair enough. Ya don’t want him ta get the chance to propose ta ya and I’m as good a chance of it never happening.” Mickey quipped with a shrug. “Hey, Doc, whaddaya think about Bartholomew Poindexter?”

“Mr. Poindexter? Well, he’s a brilliant scientist, but I don’t trust him entirely either.” Doc Static replied.

“Good. Don’t. He’s a buddy of mine from high school, to the point where we made up our own codes of how we say things and he alluded to me to not fully trust him either.” Mickey said with, oddly enough, enthusiasm, so he elaborated. “He doesn’t like working fer Alfonzo either, but he said the pay is pretty good, so I can’t really blame him since I’m in the same boat.”

“Is that so? Well, thank you kindly for that information, I’ll be sure to keep it in mind. I’ll let you go get settled-! Oh good heavens I nearly forgot! Minnie, may I have a word with you? It’s important and a bit embarrassing to ask but it needs to be brought up if you’re really set on going out there and anywhere near those darned plants.” Doc Static asked in a slight panic as he remembered whatever it was that he needed to discuss with Minnie.

Minnie herself was slightly taken aback and looked at Mickey in slight concern, but he shrugged and gently untangled himself from her arm and pointed out that he’d just be a few feet away to wait for her.

While Mickey waited, he couldn’t help much of his curiosity, so while he had most of his back to Minnie and Doc Static, he kept turned his head enough to keep them in his peripheral. He half watched as Doc whispered something fervently to Minnie, and Minnie became beet red instantly and whispered something back, and though Mickey couldn’t make out what was being said, she sounded unsure about whatever it was. Then she slowly turned her head, probably to look towards him as a glance, but Mickey wasn’t sure because something else had caught his attention…and it made his blood turn cold.

But not cold enough that he stayed frozen in shock, as he quickly ducked behind the nearest tent and hoped to high heavens that he wasn’t seen by her, Lotus Blossom, Queen of the River Pirates…formally anyway, she was a no good thief and after his very first encounter with her in the country of Bhummah, she seemed to mostly work her thieving wiles on land, especially after his second encounter with her when she stole an amulet Professor Dustibones uncovered and a crazy cult kidnapped her and took her to be an ancient mummified king’s bride in Porto Gordo. At the moment, Mickey couldn’t help but reel in his thoughts at just _what in Sam Hill she was doing all the way out here?!_ There wasn’t much of anything of value…except _everything_ should it just happen to show up in the black market, and he wouldn’t doubt that that was where all of her successful stolen goods went and got cashed into. To be perfectly honest, she could be after anything…and Mickey oddly found himself completely okay with that. He’d warn Doc Static about keeping his work station and inventions and anything else that he was working on well looked after to make sure nothing was stolen, but as long as Lotus Blossom didn’t know he was here nor was after what he and Minnie were after, and didn’t steal the money he’d probably be paid with up front after the fact, then he could honestly care less about what she was doing here.

“Mickey are you alright? You looked quite pale a moment ago…” Minnie asked cautiously as she finally approached him. Her conversation with Doc Static had ended on an awkward note, the kind of ‘she’d cross that bridge when she got there’ sort of deal. Right now, she was more concerned by whatever made Mickey go pale though whatever he thought of next brought some color back to him.

“Yeah, I’m fine Min. But we’ve got a problem…Lotus Blossom is here,” Mickey started telling her.

“Oh no, not _her_.” Minnie couldn’t help but growl. She had seen that floozy all over Mickey twice, and one of those times Lotus Blossom kissed him right in front of her!

“I don’t think she saw me, she would’ve conveniently sauntered over here by now if she had but we’ve gotta be extra careful now. I don’t want any part of her right now, I just wanna get this job done and go home with you….If that sounded wrong, I’m sorry, but I’m a bit frazzled.” Mickey finished.

“It’s alright Mickey, let’s just maneuver our way to my tent and drop our stuff off and somehow get to your original tent so we can get the cot and move it into my tent.” Minnie told him as she kept an eye out for the femme fatal. They warned Doc Static about the Queen of the river pirates and then skedaddled, not knowing that their entire conversation, even Minnie and Doc Static’s whispered bits, were listened in on.

* * *

“I have bad news for you, she’s not going to let you get near her alone if you want to propose still.” Poindexter informed his employer, who was sitting casually in his big leather chair seemingly trying to beat the humidity and jet lag as he had his feet upon his own desk with an arm over his eyes.

“That’s not very surprising and hasn’t been since you informed me on her coming with him for this expedition. We’ve had to change all sorts of plans around already because of this. Even if I propose to her now, I know she’s going to say no, so we’re going to have to go with Plan C.” Alfonzo admitted sadly.

“Are you absolutely sure about that?” Poindexter asked cautiously, eyeing him fiercely as he watched Alfonzo nod solemnly.

“It may have only been a few months so far, but I already know I can’t live without her. It’s bad enough that the scent for mice just became high in demand, so we’ll have to get a few samples of her DNA then… Is Mr. Wildebeest still tracking down that thing out there?” Alfonzo asked just to change the dreadful subject.

“Unfortunately we haven’t heard much word from him since the other day. But I have every confidence in him so the best I can tell you is that no news is good news.” Poindexter replied.

“Let’s hope for the best then, I don’t want anything to happen to her while they’re out there. And make sure Mr. Mouse gets paid no matter what the outcome is, alright?” Alfonzo requested without a hint of malice in his tone, because if anything he just simply sounded tired.

“As you wish, sir.” Poindexter said in an equal tone. “Are you not planning on doing anything about her cycle?”

“Good heavens I forgot about that…” Alfonzo muttered audibly loud enough for Poindexter to pick up as he finally removed his arm from his eyes, and took his feet off of his desk as he sat up straight. Alfonzo mentally debated about the subject and decided to give up on it too. “It’s too late for me to do anything about it, and I want nothing more than her happiness at this point. So yes, I’m not going to do anything about that.”

 “Very well then.” Poindexter quipped in understanding. His loyalty to Mickey was substantial, but he was oddly surprised by Alfonzo’s loyalty to his own word and to Ms. Mouse. He also informed Alfonzo about the Queen of the River Pirates being amongst the camp, and Alfonzo sent out the security team to take care of it.

If there was one thing everyone involved knew for certain, it was the fact that this was going to be one interesting week.


End file.
